Returning after nearly 30 years away from the big screen, the two excellent friends are back to bring a joyous film to cheer us all up. With old faces joining new ones, the film is exactly as good as the other ones – take from that statement what you will.
30 years on, and Bill and Ted still haven’t written the song that will unite the world. More importantly, it’s now revealed that the song won’t just unite the world, it will actually save reality. With the stakes higher than ever, Bill and Ted decide to use a time-machine to steal the song from themselves in the future. Meanwhile, their daughters try and help out by assembling a supergroup to perform the song.
If you’re thinking this sounds like a truly bonkers film, then you’ve fully understood the last paragraph. This film really throws everything at the wall, and by completely committing to the concepts, the majority of it sticks.
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter both return as the beloved double act, and neither seems to have aged much in the 30-year gap. It’s surprising just how bad Keanu Reeves actually is in this film. He totally manages to channel the youthful innocence he once had before he was dodging bullets and swinging Katana’s. His performance is insanely hammed up and childish, and yet it totally works. Alex Winter, a man who has unfortunately been vastly over shadowed his whole career, delivers a better performance than his co-star. However, seeing the two of them back together is the most fun, and they’re clearly having the time of their lives getting to play as these characters again.
Also returning from the original’s sequel is William Sadler as The Grim Reaper, and he is great fun and provides a lot of laughs. New cast members include Samara Weaving (‘Ready of Not’) and Brigette Lundy-Paine, perfectly cast as Bill and Ted’s respective daughters, and Anthony Carrigan as a hilariously insecure robot.
As mentioned, the film perfectly recaptures the original film’s charm and camp fun. It’s vastly over the top, brings together musicians from across the millennia, and the whole time gives the sense that it knows exactly how daft it’s being. In a time where films are taking themselves more and more seriously, it’s always fun to see a film that just wants to make people smile.
With a script that functions, a cast that are all enjoying themselves and some genuinely funny moments, ‘Bill and Ted Face the Music’ is exactly the kind of antidote needed for a summer of doom and gloom.
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