Don't let the rating fool you, this is a massive W compared to Burton's last couple of projects.

"I've never seen that chick before in my life....or afterlife." - Betelgeuse

'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 A.D.' is a return to form for the late-great director. Now, Tim Burton isn't actually dead, but his career had met a grisly fate in the 2000s, and like an undead corpse, it only got worse in the 2010s.

Like all great artists, eventually...they run out of gas, and for Tim Burton, his passion withered away & turned into easy paychecks & phoned-in silliness.

After making loads of classic & iconic films, the Gothic filmmaker lost his love for filmmaking and his projects turned into flanderized, self-hating, pieces of garbage.

It wasn't until 2022, when he directed 'Wednesday' for Netflix, that everything changed. Much like a classic 1930s Universal monster movie, Burton was struck by lightning and his passion for film was...reborn.

'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 A.D.' is Burton's way of telling us, the audience, that he is in love with filmmaking again and boy, is it good to have him back.

Unfortunately, this comes with a lot of caveats.

For one, it's a legacy sequel that recycles a lot of what was done in the original...but to a lesser degree. This isn't always a bad thing, 'The Force Awakens' & 'Twisters' being great examples of revitalizing a dead IP, but there have been so many cases of bad legacy sequels recently, and 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 A.D.' teeter-totters way too close to those types of films.

'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' is a great example of a "meh" legacy sequel that barely offers anything new but still retains some heart at the very least.

'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 A.D.' almost falls into the same "ghost trap" as 'GB: Afterlife', but what saves it from this pitfall is all the new concepts, gags, and lore that's just refreshing.

There are practical & visual effect gags I have never seen before that are fun, gross, and desperately needed in modern-Hollywood right now. This film is "balls to the walls" crazy at times, and there are some gags that I'm shocked they were able to get away with in a PG-13 movie.

It is visually remarkable, campy as hell, and reminiscent of classic Tim Burton from the 80s. There's more thought & care put into these gags than anything he's made in the last 20 years. Hats off to you, Burton, you really fucking did it.

But for every positive, there's a slightly annoying negative.

Going into this, I was nervous about whatever character Justin Theroux was playing because one simple look tells you he is an "Otho-type character", and now, having seen it...he is the weakest link in the film. He is "Otho" but with none of the charm, and the film focuses way too much on him for what is basically a plot thread that didn't need to be here. If you deleted his character, this film's rating would shoot right up.

And because we dedicate so much time to Theroux, the film barely gives Monica Belluci's character anything to do. Her presence is reduced to the footage you saw in the trailer & that's it. It is a waste of a great idea & character for nothing more than a mild inconvenience in the overall narrative.

The last major issue is one I was terribly afraid of going into this...but Jenna Ortega's character feels like the writers misunderstood what made Lydia likable in the original film.

Astrid isn't given enough character depth & is basically just an annoying teenager. We do get some backstories that are good in their own way but it never fuels Astrid as a character, it only moves the plot forward.

In the original film, Lydia is a goth girl with two terrible parents who continuously ignore/mistreat her. So that's why Lydia finds love/comfort in the Maitlands and grows to become a caring character at the end of the film.

But in this film, Astrid is angry for reasons that are way too bland for this kind of film, and the payoff is nowhere near as satisfying as it should have been.

Not to mention, her entire plotline is practically identical to the one she had in Season 1 of 'Wednesday'...which is the one thing everyone universally disliked.

But what makes up for so many of my negatives is, of course, Beetlejuice himself.

It really feels like Michael Keaton hasn't aged a day, and as Beetlejuice, he is playing the character with all of his heart. It's funny, disgusting, and wonderfully over-the-top. I know Tim Burton recently stated that he prefers keeping Beetlejuice's presence to a minimum, but honestly, this film could have used him even more. If we can have over 100 episodes of Beetlejuice in cartoon form, how is an additional 10 minutes going to hurt the movie? Let's be real here. Give me more of the Ghost with the Most, babe.

The same goes for Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz. Time has been so incredibly kind to Delia's character because she is simultaneously timeless & ridiculous, and I couldn't get enough of her. She's the best part of every scene she appears in and that's saying something when the main attraction is a sleazy & silly ghost. We even get a funny nod to 'Schitt's Creek' that's snuck in here pretty cleverly and it got a good laugh out of me.

Winona Ryder, as Lydia, is nostalgic as hell but also modernized in a way that doesn't abandon her essence, and I'm so happy they didn't ruin her character. Lydia still has the same sassy attitude, but she isn't an overly dramatic teenager in an adult body; she's compassionate & mature, like Barbara & Adam Maitland, "her real parents". I know people online got hung up on her hairstyle being the same but trust me, there was nothing to worry about here.

I also loved the addition of Willem Dafoe but the less I say, the better. His character isn't a spoiler or anything, but the gag with him is funnier on a 1st-time watch.

Lastly, Bob is a fun character, but the movie didn't know what to do with him, and that really bummed me out.

'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 A.D.' isn't the slam dunk victory I was desperately craving, but for a sequel to a 36-year-old film, it could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Consider ourselves lucky, grateful, and blessed that Tim Burton cooked, even if it's just a little bit.

Now bring on 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'!!!