As a longtime fan of Tim Burton‘s Beetlejuice, I used to be each excited and interested by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
The unique movie had that excellent mix of darkish comedy, supernatural antics, and Burton’s unmistakable quirky type, so naturally, I needed to see what new story Burton had up his sleeve for these characters.
Nonetheless, whereas there have been enjoyable moments and lots of nostalgia on this sequel, I’ve to confess, I left the theater feeling considerably upset.
First off, let me get this out of the best way… The most effective a part of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was, with out query, seeing Michael Keaton return as the long-lasting, mischievous Beetlejuice. It felt like no time had handed.
He totally embraced the function once more, bringing the identical chaotic power and humor that made him such an excellent character within the first movie. Keaton’s efficiency was seamless; he didn’t miss a beat, and his scenes are undoubtedly the film’s highlights.
However sadly, as nice as Keaton was, the remainder of the film didn’t reside as much as my expectations. The story itself had a lot happening that it felt overly convoluted. There have been two main storylines competing for consideration, and consequently, the film felt unfocused and slightly scattered.
I gained’t spoil something, however one story centered on Lydia’s daughter, Astrid and her journey into the afterlife and the opposite story centered on Beetlejuice desirous to marry Lydia as his X-Spouse is searching him down. Each tales have been attention-grabbing, however neither was given the time to breathe and develop correctly.
The movie launched a bunch of latest characters, a lot of whom had the potential to be actually participating. Jenna Ortega as Astrid, introduced some contemporary power to the solid, and Willem Dafoe as a B-movie motion star turned afterlife cop was as eccentric and satisfying as you’d count on.
The returning solid, together with Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, introduced a pleasant contact of nostalgia, they usually have been joined by Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, and Arthur Conti. Nonetheless, with so many new faces and facet tales, there simply wasn’t sufficient time to present these characters the depth and improvement they deserved.
Truthfully, these two tales might’ve been break up into two separate movies. I believe Burton would have been higher off selecting only one storyline to deal with and saving the opposite for a future installment. That method, the film might have actually delved into the characters and ideas with out feeling so scattered.
That stated, I did take pleasure in a number of the core story ideas. The concept of three generations of the Deetz household returning to Winter River after a household tragedy to kick off the story, solely to have Astrid discover herself caught within the afterlife, was compelling.
I additionally appreciated the story of Beetlejuice and his spouse, and I’d’ve cherished to get extra of that story and get to know that character higher. She was a lot enjoyable, however she might’ve been a wild and robust scene-stealer of a personality, however she wasn’t given the time to make that occur.
The film additionally took some huge swings with a number of the comedic components, and it bought actually bizarre at occasions, and I’ve to say, I loved these moments.
I simply want the movie had taken extra time to let that premise unfold naturally quite than dashing into so many alternative instructions. There’s actual potential there that bought buried underneath the load of making an attempt to suit a lot into the movie’s story.
Then, in fact, Danny Elfman’s rating was the proper eerie, whimsical backdrop to the insanity onscreen. However even with all of the expertise concerned, the film couldn’t fairly recapture the magic of the unique.
Burton simply needed to ship every thing without delay, which ended up diluting the affect of the person components.
Ultimately, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had its moments, but it surely simply didn’t maintain as much as the brilliance of the unique. It was enjoyable to see Keaton again in motion, and there are some attention-grabbing concepts buried in there, however general, the film would have benefitted from a extra streamlined method and extra deal with creating its characters and tales.
This is hoping that if we get one other sequel, Burton will take the time to let the story breathe slightly extra.
