This review may contain spoilers.
Joe’s review published on Letterboxd:
3 / 5 Stars | 60 / 100
As a long-time Beetlejuice fan, I had high expectations for this film, and thankfully it delivered on most fronts.
The cast here is in top form - Keaton, O’Hara, and Ryder slip back into their former fairly effortlessly, and Ortega makes a great addition to the Deetz family as Astrid.
Although the film makes use of CGI this time around, it still has that genuine Burton spark, and the modern technology adds a nice depth of field to the underworld scenes. It’s also really nice to see homages to the original film like the sand worms and voice-throwing.
The film does have a lot of convoluted story threads, but it never feels too difficult to keep up with. Admittedly, this film could’ve gone from ‘good’ to ‘stellar’ if Burton had whittled off a few unnecessary elements and really tightened up the plot.
In that vein, one complaint I can levy is Bellucci and Dafoe’s characters. Bellucci’s character is not given nearly enough screen time or character development despite being important to the plot; and Dafoe’s character, while funny, is essentially irrelevant in moving the story forward. Even as a die hard Dafoe fan, he just didn’t really need to be in this film. Additionally, Lydia’s boyfriend (played by Justin Theroux) is annoying as fuck and barely contributes to the plot. I understand why his character was included, but ultimately the storyline between him and Lydia only added unnecessary fluff to the plot.
One thing another reviewer [JayShmoney] mentioned is that Burton more or less ripped the storyline for Astrid right from the plot of Wednesday. I was ignorant of it until it was pointed out, but once you notice it, it’s impossible not to see it. It would’ve been nice if Astrid had been given a bit more autonomy in making and resolving mistakes instead of just being pulled through the plot by other characters.
Ultimately, this film was a fun dive back down the Burton rabbit hole, but it just doesn’t quite live up to the legacy of the original. With a bit of plot tweaking and script editing, this film could’ve been just as good if not better than Beetlejuice, but as it stands, it just doesn’t quite fill the shoes of it’s predecessor.
