Not only are the fictional Bill and Ted middle-aged and a bit worn around the edges, nobody can stop time, but so are Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. The chemistry is clearly still there but even before I saw the film I felt the nostalgist might at best be a sad reminder of your mortality and at worst a set of old men paying their outstanding tax bills and trying to recapture a moment in time that simply cannot be recaptured because….well, time.
I would say in all modesty I was partially correct and partially wrong. There is an element of wallowing about the morasses of the past but there is a genuine attempt to update the story, such as it is, and engage new viewers or fans. I would say that on the scale of succeeding or failing in this endeavour the writers Matheson and Solomon have just dropped below the ‘failed’ line. Not so much as you do not want to watch the film or walk out on it but definitely to the degree where no youngsters will be talking about this and anticipating a sequel when Winter and Reeves and genuinely in a care home.
Part of the problem is just too much time has passed from the last film and seeing men in the fifties behaving like basically idiots is not as funny as the first two times – plus behaving like an idiot was a bit fun in your teens and twenties, I’m the same age as them, I still behave like an idiot but not the same way. Someone cleverer than me could have evolved this in an interesting and new way but instead they just made the same film with everyone older or replaced.
The young Bill and Ted are surrogated by Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving as ‘Billie and Thea’ but they really are just Bill and Ted, but in young female form and I cannot help feeling that a good twist or change to the story was missed here. I also cannot help feeling that one door left open is for the actors to go on when our main stars become too old for these types of high-jinx.
With George Carlin now being gone from the realm Kristin Schaal pops up as his daughter and George gets a hologram. Schaal’s quirky presence is always welcome in a film or show so it comes as no surprise that she was not used enough. Instead we get Bill and Ted traipsing through time and history picking up famous musicians and meeting a-hole versions of themselves. At time it is funny, other times it raises an eyebrow more than a smile.
In the end the film is silly and daft, so I am not looking for logic or some serious message, it is just be excellent to each other and let music save the world. Also, Death is a cool dude but I could not help thinking a better story was in there somewhere, more fun, indeed funnier all round.
The acting is good for what it is, let us be honest no one is stretching their acting chops here, and anyway William Sadler wipes the floor with them, even if Death looks errr….older.
Overall for all the hype about this film, I was disappointed, I did laugh and enjoyed some points and the care home scenes had some emotional heft for me due to the recent death of my father but I cannot tell anyone to seek out this film and I probably will never watch it again.
I feel this is a great shame. I liked Bill and Ted, but I was younger and like them, I am not any longer.
Review by DeletedBlockedParent2021-03-26T22:36:56Z
Not only are the fictional Bill and Ted middle-aged and a bit worn around the edges, nobody can stop time, but so are Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. The chemistry is clearly still there but even before I saw the film I felt the nostalgist might at best be a sad reminder of your mortality and at worst a set of old men paying their outstanding tax bills and trying to recapture a moment in time that simply cannot be recaptured because….well, time.
I would say in all modesty I was partially correct and partially wrong. There is an element of wallowing about the morasses of the past but there is a genuine attempt to update the story, such as it is, and engage new viewers or fans. I would say that on the scale of succeeding or failing in this endeavour the writers Matheson and Solomon have just dropped below the ‘failed’ line. Not so much as you do not want to watch the film or walk out on it but definitely to the degree where no youngsters will be talking about this and anticipating a sequel when Winter and Reeves and genuinely in a care home.
Part of the problem is just too much time has passed from the last film and seeing men in the fifties behaving like basically idiots is not as funny as the first two times – plus behaving like an idiot was a bit fun in your teens and twenties, I’m the same age as them, I still behave like an idiot but not the same way. Someone cleverer than me could have evolved this in an interesting and new way but instead they just made the same film with everyone older or replaced.
The young Bill and Ted are surrogated by Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving as ‘Billie and Thea’ but they really are just Bill and Ted, but in young female form and I cannot help feeling that a good twist or change to the story was missed here. I also cannot help feeling that one door left open is for the actors to go on when our main stars become too old for these types of high-jinx.
With George Carlin now being gone from the realm Kristin Schaal pops up as his daughter and George gets a hologram. Schaal’s quirky presence is always welcome in a film or show so it comes as no surprise that she was not used enough. Instead we get Bill and Ted traipsing through time and history picking up famous musicians and meeting a-hole versions of themselves. At time it is funny, other times it raises an eyebrow more than a smile.
In the end the film is silly and daft, so I am not looking for logic or some serious message, it is just be excellent to each other and let music save the world. Also, Death is a cool dude but I could not help thinking a better story was in there somewhere, more fun, indeed funnier all round.
The acting is good for what it is, let us be honest no one is stretching their acting chops here, and anyway William Sadler wipes the floor with them, even if Death looks errr….older.
Overall for all the hype about this film, I was disappointed, I did laugh and enjoyed some points and the care home scenes had some emotional heft for me due to the recent death of my father but I cannot tell anyone to seek out this film and I probably will never watch it again.
I feel this is a great shame. I liked Bill and Ted, but I was younger and like them, I am not any longer.