As if I hadn’t been disappointed enough times by belated/legacy sequels, last night I went to my local cinema to watch one of the latest offerings, and a sequel that quite frankly surprised and excited a lot of people when it was announced it was officially in development a few years back.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
Although my expectations weren’t particularly high going in, I had seen an interview with Michael Keaton prior to the release of the movie in which he said he’d seen the film a couple of times and that he could “confidently say, this thing is great”.
Well, being a fan of the best Batman to ever wear the suit, why would I have any reason to doubt him..?
If you haven’t seen it yet, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a supernatural, fantasy, comedy “horror” (if you can call it that), and is of course the long awaited sequel to the beloved 80s classic, Beetlejuice (1988).
It’s directed by Tim Burton and sees Michael Keaton (The Founder), Winona Ryder (Edward Scissorhands) and Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone) reprise their roles from the first film. This time around though they’re joined by newcomers to the Beetlejuice world, Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Justin Theroux (Joker), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) and Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) among others.
Jeffrey Jones who played Charles Deetz (Lydia’s dad) in the first film doesn’t return due to legal troubles, neither does Glenn Shadix (Otho in from the original) who sadly passed away in 2010.
This is what it’s about according to the internet:
“Three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River after an unexpected family tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life soon gets turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter discovers a mysterious portal to the afterlife. When someone says Beetlejuice's name three times, the mischievous demon gleefully returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.”
Tim Burton isn’t generally one to make sequels. In fact this is only the second time he’s done it (after 1992s Batman Returns). That in itself has had some people excited about this film. To be fair though, any new Tim Burton movie is usually something to get at least interested in since he’s such a unique filmmaker whose films are often very different to anything that anyone else in Hollywood is making.
I was really surprised to learn last week that he’s only just been given his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!
But I digress…
So when the lights went down and the opening credits started to roll I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get the tiniest bit excited. Tim Burton’s long-time musical collaborator Danny Elfman is back with yet another memorable and instantly recognisable score which plays over the opening titles. Much like Top Gun: Maverick, the first few minutes of the film are very similar to the previous movie which, personally I think is a nice touch and instantly gives fans of the original a strong hit of nostalgia. Unfortunately any hopes I had that this strong start was setting up 104 minutes of pure nostalgic and entertaining joy were dashed soon after.
Without getting too much into the nitty gritty I’ll split my thoughts into what I liked and what I didn’t like about the film.
The Bad:
Unlike the original this movie has zero charm whatsoever. The first film had a great original and solid story that was easy to follow, likeable and sympathetic characters that you could root for, and the occasional laugh out loud moment with many other subtle comedic moments peppered throughout the whole movie. This film has virtually none of that.
The story is average at best with multiple conflicting storylines tripping over each other, none of the characters are likeable or sympathetic in the slightest (accept for Bob), with some feeling totally forced in and unnecessary. The whole thing feels choppy and all over the place and like it has no real direction for a lot of the time. It does have its moments here and there but they’re soon lost just as you feel like it’s finally starting to go somewhere.
It has a pointless female villain who doesn't really amount to anything at all, forced musical numbers, (presumably to try and replicate the iconic “Banana Boat (Day-O)” scene from the first film, just with a lot less impact) and your typical angst-ridden, whiny teenager thrown in to annoy everyone. Even Winona Ryder’s performance isn’t overly great.
The Good:
I’m pleased to say that Michael Keaton’s still got it and does a great job with what he’s given (which isn’t a lot), as does Catherine O’Harrah who still looks great at the age of 70.
Newcomer Arthur Conti is one of the best additions to the film with his character’s storyline being the strongest and most surprising thing about the story, and the score by Danny Elfman (one of my favourite film composers) is excellent and really helps to recapture the mischievous tone of the original.
Like I said, the movie does have its moments, I just wish there had been more of them and that they’d played out in a smoother way rather than being sewn together so haphazardly.
There’s a nice cameo at the beginning from an actor who’s previously appeared in a couple of Tim Burton movies, and the film does manage to occasionally recapture some of what makes the first film so good, just sadly in very very small doses.
Much like my feelings towards Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) I’m sure I’m in the minority when I say this film isn’t as good as people are giving it credit for. I know we’re all entitled to our opinions but I swear people these days have either lowered their standards as a result of being subjected to, and thus accepting the kind of sub-par quality films they’ve gotten so used to over the past few years, or they simply get so caught up in the nostalgia of these kinds of sequels that it blinds them to the actual quality of the movie they’re watching.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a film snob and I’m not an elitist, I just want to be entertained and feel like the two hours I’ve spent watching a new film was not just an “ok” use of my time, but a good one at the very least. I honestly don’t think that’s a lot to ask - especially when in cases like this they’ve had 36 years to come up with the story.
Personally I think it’s just a sign of today’s filmmaking. There doesn’t seem to be any depth to a lot of the films that are being released anymore. Everything is visual and over the top to ensure that it grabs our attention from the beginning, but beyond that there’s very little decent content or meaning to anything anymore.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just getting old but I came out of the cinema after watching this film feeling deflated and utterly disappointed. As always though I wouldn’t want to put anyone off watching this movie. These are just my thoughts and I encourage you to go and see it for yourselves and make up your own minds.
Already seen it? If so what did you think? Let me know in the comments.
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