Nick Ward’s review published on Letterboxd:
Baby Betelgeuse
Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith seem unsure how to continue the first movie as their story is a mismatch of different premises, resulting in the mess that is Gough and Millar's screenplay.
Lydia having to work with Betelgeuse as she chases Astrid through the afterlife to save her is the one that’s the most successful, and the movie would have been so much better if it had eliminated other things in favor of fleshing this storyline out more.
Director Tim Burton admirably tries to recreate the charming macabre world of the first movie, but the improved effects, though well done, just lack the personality the ones in the first movie had.
Michael Keaton is enjoyable as Betelgeuse, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are also welcomed returns, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe and Justin Theroux are nice additions to the cast, and Monica Bellucci is solid as an excessive character.
Despite being a mixed bag, this movie does build to a satisfying conclusion that serves as an excellent extension of the original movie's underlying message.
But it then fucks everything up in its final moment by turning Lydia’s trauma from Betelgeuse into an unfunny, skin-crawling gag featuring Baby Betelgeuse, whose appearances in this movie has you asking questions you don’t want answered.
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