The "excellent" catchphrase and air guitar moves by Bill and Ted in the films Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) provided some of the most memorable moments in American pop culture. Furthermore, the Bill & Ted franchise introduced to us a Hollywood superstar in the making in the form of actor Keanu Reeves long before he featured in blockbusters such as Speed, The Matrix and John Wick.
Playing the role of Ted Logan along with his pal Bill Breston -- played by Alex Winter -- the first two Bill & Ted movies had a sense of wonderful fluffy excitement about them. The characters were not trying to do anything that people might have expected them to. Simply, they were just two teenagers who were fond of rock and roll music and happened to discover time travel.
Although Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey ended in a satisfying manner, a third film in the franchise popped up this year. Directed by Dean Parisot and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, I found the new movie, which is titled Bill & Ted Face The Music, to be poorly written and kind of unnecessary. However, it does have its silly, fun and optimistic moments.
In Bill & Ted Face The Music, we've got Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves again in their roles as Bill and Ted, the buddies who witnessed and experienced success with their rock band Wyld Stallyns. However this time around, they find themselves as middle-aged dads with two daughters, unemployed and having marriage issues. But they still have to crank out that one hit song believed to be the key that will unite the world and save the entire universe from falling apart.
As the end of the world nears, Bill and Ted embark on a new journey and time travel to meet with different versions of themselves in the future to ask how they wrote the song. At the same time, their daughters also time travel to the past to discover some of history's best and influential musicians to hopefully help craft a special song.
William Sadler as Death. UNITED ARTISTS
Despite some good performances by cast members, cool visuals and modern special effects in the film, my main issue with Bill & Ted Face The Music is the script. If 30 years have elapsed since the previous sequel came out, a lot of time was available to put thought into what this third film would be about. However, the new film felt half-baked, bland, and made me wonder if the writers just threw together a script. Did they really put any thought into what Bill and Ted would get up to in this new film?
Despite only a 90 minute runtime, a lot of time travel has been packed into the film and because of that pace, it feels a bit rushed. Moreover, once the characters complete their mission, the movie ends rather abruptly. It would have been nice if they added a little more and had some fun with some of the other characters, especially some of the subplots involving wives. For example, couples therapy, which is mentioned in the beginning, is pretty much ignored in the second act.
Also, when we find out that the story will involve Bill and Ted's daughters -- Thea (Samara Weaving ) and Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) -- it became obvious that they would play a big role in the plot. I don't really mind the passing of the torch to the next generation but it was pointless watching them try so hard to imitate a young Bill and Ted. If you want to pass the torch, make sure it's given to people that the audience would want to follow, however, I don't think that was ever established in this film. All that the daughters do is imitate their father's mannerisms and copy things from the previous film, which means they don't stand out on their own. Instead, the script has the characters jump from one hoop to the next without any coherent structure.
While Reeves and Winter are still able to slip into their old shoes and try their best to re-embody their iconic and beloved characters, at times you notice them looking rigid and even uncomfortable. Also, I don't know what exactly the make-up artist did to Keanu's character because his face looks pretty much like he is made of wax and that there is no life in him.
The soundtrack of Bill & Ted Face The Music is also out of depth. The daughters are supposed to bring music legends like Jimi Hendrix, Mozart and Louis Armstrong together in the end to create "the song", yet neither of them plays an instrument and artists are summoned there for no reason. If these two kids are supposed to be the new heroes, at least they should have had stronger roles. Despite all this, there were some funny moments in the film in the form of supporting roles such as a robot character named Dennis (Anthony Carrigan) sent to destroy Bill and Ted Terminator-style and the return of William Sadler as Death, which was one of my favourite characters from Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. These supporting characters do a better job of satisfying the fans than the main characters.
Bill & Ted Face The Music might not surpass the first films and probably is the weakest out of all three but if you're looking for an easy watch or if you're watching just for Keanu Reeves, then this is a no-brainer. However, if you're a longtime fan hoping to catch up with some old friends and revisiting your teens, you may be a little disappointed with Bill & Ted Face The Music. As the saying goes, some things are better left in the past.
