Beetlejuice 2 Movie Review with Spoilers
The long-awaited sequel to the cult classic, "Beetlejuice," is now available in theaters. Titled "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," the film brings back stars Michael Keaton as the eccentric bio-exorcist, with Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz.
The plot picks up decades after the events of the original, exploring an older Lydia still grappling with her past supernatural experiences. Now a successful artist, she finds herself once again intertwined with the spirit world when a new threat emerges.
It endangers her loved ones, the balance between the living and the dead and only one thing can help her, Beetlejuice.
The film currently has a critics score on Rotten Tomatoes of 77% with an audience score of 82%.
Those are facts, now these are my thoughts:
First off, the good stuff.
Michael Keaton was perfect. Amazingly, he didn’t miss a beat at the age of 73. He had so much energy! I kind of understand not wanting to overuse the character, but he was underused here.
Fans didn’t know Beatlejuice when the original came out. So he wasn’t the draw which I think he is now.
I really enjoyed Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega (Astrid), playing mother and daughter. Great chemistry and acting throughout. It’s a shame we don’t get more time with Jenna and Keaton though.
Willem Dafoe plays a dead actor, who plays a cop in the afterlife. It’s confusing but Dafoe hams it up and is a lot of fun.
It’s nowhere near as great or memorable as the original. Overall, a solid film that’s worth checking out if you are a fan of the first movie.
Now the not-so good stuff.
The movie starts off WAY too slow, we don’t see “The Juice” until about 35 minutes in. They waste so much time on a character who dies to get the plot going.
Even weirder, the character was Charles Deetz, played by Jeffrey Jones. The man pled no contest in 2003 to charges of possession of child pornography!
Burton even did some cool stop-motion animation, but why for that character?! It’s about 20 minutes of that, when it should have been 5 or 2 minutes.
Monica Bellucci plays Beatlejuice’s ex-wife, she looks awesome/creepy. I think this character is a big problem though. It starts off seemingly very much about her getting revenge on her ex….then she’s gone until the final act.
Then there’s a character named Jeremy Frazier, played by Arthur Conti. He’s fine but only exists to get Lydia in the afterlife. Turns out he was dead and swapped places with her, that doesn’t go much further.
Justin Theroux plays Lydia’s boyfriend and he’s painful to watch. Everything about him sucks, but he does make Lydia and even more likable.
Too many characters and story-lines bring the movie down big time.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”
Overall Grade: 7.6
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. A sequel to Beetlejuice (1988) and the second film of the Beetlejuice franchise.
The film stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.
