Bill & Ted Face the Music - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Bill & Ted Face the Music



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Party on dudes!

How many of you were actually calling out for another sequel to Bill & Ted? Show of hands? Anyone? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m not sure that anyone was actually calling out for another Bill & Ted movie, but 29 years after Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey that’s exactly what we got. I’m going to say it up front though, I really, REALLY didn’t expect this movie to amount to a hill of beans. Most movie sequels that take years and years to come to fruition aren’t worth the paper that they were written on, and a movie like this that is 31 years after the original and 29 years after the last sequel just doesn’t have that much going for it. About the ONLY good thing that was going for the film was that Alex Winters and Keanu Reeves were both coming back together to reprise their original roles. Color me surprised when Bill & Ted Face the Music actually turned out to be a fun time. Sure, it’s not a great movie, OR a great sequel, but the fact that it’s actually fun and a DECENT sequel is a bit of a miracle in and of itself.

It’s been 25 years since Bill S. Preston Esquire (Alex Winters) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) saved the world with the gift of Wyld Stallions, married two princesses from the 1400s, and basically were just plain excellent to each other. The thing is, that massive concert back in 1991 WASN’T the song that would unite humanity together as Rufus (good old George Carlin) said, and both Bill and Ted have fallen on hard times. Wyld Stallion had garnered some fame back in the 90s, but 25 years later the duo are still trying to find the magic formula for creating that perfect song, and have basically turned themselves into has beens. Their marriages to the princesses are falling apart, but luckily for them, their daughters Thea (Samara Weaving) and Billie (Brigitte Lundy-Paine) have followed in their father’s musical footsteps and been jamming together for years.

HOWEVER, Bill and Ted are at the end of their proverbial rope as the future gurus have called them back through time to make due on their promise of creating the song that unites humanity. You see, the world is starting to unravel at the seams and the ONLY thing that can save all of time and space is for Bill and Ted to get cracking. Confused and bemused as ever, the doltish duo decide to hijack Rufus’s old magical telephone booth and travel through the future to get the song from future thems, run back in time and save the world. While they’re going through times desperate to plagiarize their own music, Billie and Thea also start time jumping to organize a band comprised of the past’s greatest musicians in hopes of helping their fathers accomplish their goals. Only thing is, both sets of duos run into problems, leading them back to hell and death himself (with William Sadler reprising his role), and with time running out, have to figure a way out of hell and back into rocking the world once more.

As I said in the opening paragraph, I really didn’t see this as going anywhere. The idea of a sequel 29 years later is already a tough sell, and with the inclusion of Bill and Ted’s daughters I was FULLY expecting this to be a movie about them, with Bill and Ted playing cameo in their own franchise. Luckily I was wrong about that aspect, as this is a movie all about Bill and Ted, just with their daughter’s help included. It’s simple, about the music, and pure silly fun. My only complaint about the film (or at least my most MAJOR complaint) is the ending. With all of the hype and mystique about the song that unites humanity, it playing out the way it did just felt a bit silly and trite. In my opinion it was much better to leave it to the imagination as the imagination has a way of making it grander than it is.

Basically, silly movie, silly concept, but it works due to Keanu and Alex’s chemistry together. They both feel like they’re right back in groove ala 1989 and 1991, just with age marks. That being said, Billie and Thea almost match them blow for blow, with Brigitte’s Billie REALLY selling it. Samara Weaving does a great job, but Brigitte is fully rocking the doltish surfer vibe of her dad down to a T. Both my wife and I thought she was spot on perfect, and had Samara not let the surfer vibe slip a little now and again, they would have been the perfect duo.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for some language




Video:

While the videophile in me would have LOVED a 4K UHD release of the film (it was done with a 4K native master), the Blu-ray will suffice just fine considering that it’s a great looking Blu-ray. The flick is very glossy and shiny, with lots of CGI for the futuristic world of tomorrow, and a slick blue sheen to the color grading. Fine detailing is exemplary with very revealing facial nuances (sometimes a bit TOO revealing for the aging actor’s faces), strong detail along clothing and backgrounds, and very bright and richly saturated colors. Black levels are generally great, though I noticed some crush in hell (snicker) and the CGI sometimes shows it’s weaknesses due to the limited budget. All in all, a great looking disc.








Audio:

Again, like the video, I would have loved a next gen audio mix (Atmos or DTS:X) as the musical nature of the film really would have benefited from it, but the 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix is no slouch. It’s a rocking track from beginning to end with a nice spacious feel to it. The music flows seamlessly throughout the 6 channels, and the bass can be absolutely crushing at times, especially when the phone booth makes a landing. Voices are crisp and clean up in the front of the room, making it a VERY impressive mix.









Extras:

• The Official Bill & Ted Face The Music Panel at Comic-Con@Home
• Be Excellent to Each Other
• A Most Triumphant Duo
• Death's Crib
• Social Piece (Excellence)

Final Score: ​

Yup, I’m almost shocked to say it. Bill & Ted Face the Music is actually a fun movie. It’s not a great movie by any means, but it’s very watchable in a fun way and that alone is a jaw dropping miracle considering how bad I fully expected it to be. It’s basically more Bill & Ted goofiness with a modern vibe. Alex Winters and Keanu Reeves really are the stars of the movie, and both men keeping their characters intact really sells the flick. Warner’s Blu-ray release is stellar, with awesome audio and video, but sadly some rather middle of the road extras keep it from being a really full fledged package (I was surprised to see that this is the first new release WB title in YEARS that isn’t a combo pack. I’m assuming that is due to the fact that this is really an Orion films production that Warner is distributing and Orion made the call on that). Fun watch, fun times, and always remember to be excellent to one another.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Samara Weaving, Brigitte Lundy-Paine, Kristen Schaal, William Sadler, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays
Directed by: Dean Parisot
Written by: Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, German, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, German, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 89 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: November 10th, 2020

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. While, I greatly enjoyed the first one, the second one was a disappointment. I enjoyed the historical aspects of the first one while the second one lacked the historical details..

I will check this one out but only once available on amazon prime/netflix.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

There were plenty of us calling for this film. Alex Winter had been working with the original writers and tweaking and making sure it lived up to the franchise since like 2010. He and Keanu both really wanted to do it, but didn't want to commit to it until they felt the script was worth making.

What's your take on the 4K releases? Do you think we'll see them all in a year? Is there some master plan of trying to put some of these films out in theaters before releasing 4K discs? I mean, if you look at Redbox, it's hard to even find a blu-ray these days, the vast majority is only winding up there on DVD.

 

[Todd Anderson]

The health of Red Box can't be great... although, DVD still accounts for about 65% of the market in sales.