Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.
rg9400 reviewedNovember 1, 2024
I was pleasantly surprised by this legacy sequel. Tim Burton's visual flair is present throughout the movie, from practical effects to zany characters to just his sense of the quirky and macabre. If you are a fan of his madcap style, you'll be glad to know that this is the sharpest movie he's made in years. That said, I think the main drawback is that every character is sort of in their own movie. There are plenty of cool ideas thrown around, but they don't gel or play off each other. We have a phenomenal character introduction for Monica Bellucci, but her actual role in the movie is negligible. Willem Dafoe is sort of just having a good time. And there are other new characters with intriguing backstories that don't really get the impact they should because they get quickly glossed over to move to the next event. In some ways, that leads to a diverse set of stories, a frenetic pace, and something always attention-grabbing on screen. However, it also sort of causes the movie to end without feeling like it had as much of an impact as it could have. Still, the style is good enough to carry the movie. Also, Tim Burton has really done a great job collecting such a strong array of eccentric character actors. I was worried that Jenna Ortega would sort of just play the same role she does in Wednesday, and though there are similarities, I feel like she is able to showcase a bit her of acting abilities to really differentiate the two characters. Overall, a solidly entertaining movie dripping with Burton charm that also feels like he threw a bunch of ideas at the wall, hoping some would stick.