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dsullery's rating
Reviews30
dsullery's rating
I had no expectations going into this one. I wasn't against the idea of a sequel to the original, but Beetlejuice is one of my favorite movies of any decade and, honestly, I'd always assumed it was a brilliantly original one-and-done, a notion I was fine with.
But here we are decades later and a sequel we have been given. To my surprise and great delight, I really enjoyed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
It's a funny , highly entertaining sequel that is cluttered with too many story threads, but is elevated by a knockout performance from Michael Keaton as the ghost with the most and the best work Tim Burton has delivered behind the camera in years.
The entire cast is terrific - Winona Ryder does great work as an older Lydia and Jenna Ortega is perfect as her daughter.. But special praise has to be given to Catherine O'Hara, who returns as Delia Deitz. O Hara is naturally funny anyway, but she's absolutely this movie's secret weapon .. Delia is still Delia, but this time the daffy artist from the original has gained some wisdom over the years and O'Hara does a tremendous job of not only making her funny again, but giving the audience a reason to actually care about her.
The visuals are a winning mix of limited CGI work and almost wall to wall practical effects, so this feels like the same world.
One sidebar I have to mention: All of the plot threads are eventually pulled together in a brilliant, genuinely funny sequence set to Richard Harris' version of MacArthur Park that may be the single best thing Tim Burton has ever done. This sequence is easily a high water mark in the career of both Burton and Keaton (who gloriously takes it up to eleven in this scene) and it's the coup de grace that elevates this sequel to being almost on the same level as the original.
Almost. As I mentioned, there are too many plot threads and, honestly, some rewriting could have had this movie end in the same place while losing the storylines involving Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe. They're both good in their roles, but they feel unnecessary to this movie.
But those are minor quibbles. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was smarter, funnier and more respectful to the original than I could have hoped. It's a terrific sequel and I highly recommend it.
**** out of *****..
But here we are decades later and a sequel we have been given. To my surprise and great delight, I really enjoyed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
It's a funny , highly entertaining sequel that is cluttered with too many story threads, but is elevated by a knockout performance from Michael Keaton as the ghost with the most and the best work Tim Burton has delivered behind the camera in years.
The entire cast is terrific - Winona Ryder does great work as an older Lydia and Jenna Ortega is perfect as her daughter.. But special praise has to be given to Catherine O'Hara, who returns as Delia Deitz. O Hara is naturally funny anyway, but she's absolutely this movie's secret weapon .. Delia is still Delia, but this time the daffy artist from the original has gained some wisdom over the years and O'Hara does a tremendous job of not only making her funny again, but giving the audience a reason to actually care about her.
The visuals are a winning mix of limited CGI work and almost wall to wall practical effects, so this feels like the same world.
One sidebar I have to mention: All of the plot threads are eventually pulled together in a brilliant, genuinely funny sequence set to Richard Harris' version of MacArthur Park that may be the single best thing Tim Burton has ever done. This sequence is easily a high water mark in the career of both Burton and Keaton (who gloriously takes it up to eleven in this scene) and it's the coup de grace that elevates this sequel to being almost on the same level as the original.
Almost. As I mentioned, there are too many plot threads and, honestly, some rewriting could have had this movie end in the same place while losing the storylines involving Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe. They're both good in their roles, but they feel unnecessary to this movie.
But those are minor quibbles. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was smarter, funnier and more respectful to the original than I could have hoped. It's a terrific sequel and I highly recommend it.
**** out of *****..
