After 36 years, the cult classic “Beetlejuice” is back on the silver screen.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is the legacy sequel to one of the most popular Tim Burton franchises. The Deetz family returns to Winter River, and things get wacky — albeit very slowly.
Boring, elongated expositions have been common in 2024, but there was no reason for it in a film like this. Plenty of drama happens in the first half that directors could have capitalized on, but why do that when they could just rely on Beetlejuice to make it interesting?
Micheal Keaton as Beetlejuice and the back-half of this sequel bring the series to life. Keaton does an incredible job slipping back into the character, even at 72. All the original charm and charisma of his character comes back in full force.
Beetlejuice also finally gets some meaningful screen time, allowing him to expand the lore and describe Monica Belluci’s character, Delores LaVerge, who can kill the dead again by sucking their souls. That sounds incredibly plot-relevant and like it could cause some problems, right? Right?
Both Belluci and Willem Dafoe, who plays undead ghost detective Wolf Jackson, could be completely cut from the film and there would be hardly any change to the main story. They played their parts very well; it’s just that those parts weren’t that well written to begin with.
There are opportunities for Dafoe to be a hero or for Belluci to cause chaos, but neither happen. In fact, many of the interesting moving parts outside the main plotline fall remarkably flat.
It is exciting to have all those original cast members performing together again, but the homages to the original movie often feel out of place or overdone. If you want to drop an Easter egg for your dedicated audience, it doesn’t have to be so obvious.
With a star-studded cast, macabre humor and captivating digital effects, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is one of the best movies to come out thus far this year, but it struggles to compete with the original. That’s the thing about making a good movie — it’s difficult to make a sequel.
In terms of sequels, though, this might be the best one that’s come out in years. However, “Joker: Folie à Deux” might be a competitor this October.
This has yet to be seen, so go relive the zany wacky world of the undead and enjoy “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
