It's been about half a year since I've written any movie reviews here. I think the reason is pretty obvious if you've lived through this year, that I just don't have enough free time... also all movies have been canceled and moved to next year or put into some movie release purgatory. Although it's not all bad, just mostly bad. Some movies have seen the light of day by being released straight to video-on-demand (VOD) or streaming services like Disney+ or Netflix. While it seemed like a risky thing to do it's kinda been successful for some companies, like Universal who after finding a good audience with Trolls World Tour decided to start focusing on releasing more movies straight to VOD. This did lead to a bit of a feud between AMC and Universal where AMC banned all future movies from Universal in anger of their new focus on VOD. Ultimately this did lead to a questionable deal where Universal can release new movies on VOD after it plays at least 17 days in an AMC theater, but AMC will get a cut of the money from those VOD sales. This is pretty bad for any other theater chain outside of AMC who won't be getting that money and also will lose sales to people renting at home versus going to the theater. Even worse for independent theaters that have even less power in the industry. It's safe to say the movie-going experience could be changing a lot in the next few years and not for the better (at least for theatergoers).
So that leads to this new Bill and Ted movie, which was originally going to have a wide release in theaters and a full run until the big COVID came and ruined everything. So instead the movie is now available for rental through many different services for 20 dollars and can be owned for just 5 more on top of that. But is it even worth it?
These kinds of movies don't exactly have the best track record. That is to say, comedy sequels that come a decade or more after the originals. Think of movies like Dumb and Dumber To, Zoolander 2, Indiana Jones 4, Blues Brothers 2000, and Super Troopers 2. All movies that came over a decade after the original and were pretty awful, especially compared to the originals. But there have been some that were at least good recently like Incredibles 2, Trainspotting 2, Blade Runner 2049 and Mad Max Fury Road. So where does Bill and Ted Face The Music fall? Honestly kind of in the middle.
Bill and Ted Face the Music does a good job at bringing everything you liked from the originals back, bringing it all together to make a pretty decent movie. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter fit back into their roles perfectly and both feel like they've been ready to come back into these characters for a long time. The story picks up in modern times with a much older Bill and Ted. They found big success in their music careers and became big rock stars, but that only lasted a while. They eventually washed out and started making more experimental music that drove them out of fame. They were never able to make the song that would bring the world together. But once again Bill and Ted are summoned to the future where the leaders are desperate for the Wild Stallions to make the song that will save the world because they only have a few hours to do it before the universe collapses. So Bill and Ted travel to the future while their two daughters travel to the past to try to find the song and the perfect musicians to make it all come together before the world falls into total chaos.
It's safe to say that if you loved or even liked the first two movies, you'll most likely get a lot of enjoyment here. The movie does a good job of paying homage the first two movies while still adding some new elements to keep things pretty interesting. Though, this is still a Bill and Ted movie, so don't expect anything that's groundbreaking. But, just like the first two movies, this one has a lot of heart, and seeing Bill and Ted back on the screen just feels kind of right. It's probably because of Reeves and Winters just playing their parts so well and everyone on screen knew exactly what kind of movie they were making. I'd imagine the cast had a lot of fun making this movie and it shows. The humor is exactly what you'd expect with lots of "dudes" and cheesy jokes and silly characters.
This movie is exactly what it needed to be as a sequel to the original Bill and Ted movies. It's the kind of dumb, but still really fun at times and feels like it was made with care and love for the first two movies. Basically, it feels like it should exist and wasn't made simply as a cheap cash-in using a recognizable name. If you weren't a fan of the originals, this one probably won't change your mind about the series. And if you haven't seen them, I'd recommend checking them out before going into this one cause it does have a lot of references to those that I think boost the enjoyment.
Overall I'd say this gets at least a C+, it's not a movie I see myself coming back to often, but I did enjoy watching it. It's a great example of how to make a sequel to a loved series after being away for so long. It should please all the fans of the original while hopefully bringing in some new ones. Now I wouldn't say it's worth the 20 dollars rental price, but it might be hard to find any movie that actually is.