Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a great sequel and one of Tim Burton's very best in years. I was looking forward to this, but I'm honestly surprised at just how much fun this was, and how much they were able to capture the tone, magic, and spirit of the original without it being a direct beat for beat rehash that copies everything its predecessor did with less impact. This is telling an original story, and I liked the further exploration and world building of the afterlife. Burton's kooky style, morbid sense of humour, and weirdness are all over this, and it feels like the most passion he's put into any of his projects in decades. The costumes, set designs, makeup, and practical effects are all absolutely perfect, and it's a giant relief at how little this uses digital effects in general. This is a hilarious ride full of laugh out loud moments, but I was also surprised at the heart underneath it all and how far they we're able to push the PG-13 rating. Some of the violence and practical effects are way bloodier, gnarlier, and grosser than you'd ever expect in a PG-13 rated film that's technically aimed at families.

Michael Keaton slips right back into the role of Beetlejuice seamlessly and hasn’t missed a beat as the character. He’s used perfectly throughout, and he’s given a lot more to do and interact with this time around. Winona Ryder is great as Lydia once again and this seems like a natural direction for her character to go since the events of the original. Catherine O’Hara is a major scene stealer and isn’t getting nearly enough credit for her brilliant comedic work. I loved what Jenna Ortega brought as well, and I appreciate that’s she not just playing a slightly different variation of the characters that made her famous. The entire new cast is great but Ortega truly standouts and might give the best performance in the film next to Keaton. Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe provide some of the biggest laughs and perfectly tap into Burton and the films wavelength. A line about a Netflix executive from Theroux, nearly killed me.

As much as I did enjoy this one, the plot’s a bit of a mess and this is overall an overstuffed sequel with a few too many subplots. Monnica Bellucci is solid as always and has a fantastic introduction scene, but other than that she didn’t need to be in the movie at all and barely even ties into what’s going on. The same can be said about Willem Dafoe’s character but at least he’s given more than mere minutes of screentime. I loved the chemistry between Ryder and Ortega but personally their characters strained relationship feels underexplored and doesn’t have the emotion it’s clearly going for. I hate being mean to a newcomer, but I thought the performance of Arthur Conti as Ortega’s love interest was pretty bad too despite them having decent enough chemistry.

But other than those complaints, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an absolutely perfect start to Spooky Season and will undoubtedly be a massive hit with audiences both critically and commercially. It might not have the same freshness or the iconic nature of the original, but for a sequel nearly 40 years later, it’s pretty damn good. Maybe my ratings a little high but I enjoyed this one a lot.