Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) (Movie Review)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) Hello !No, I’m not going to be at all objective in this review, as you can imagine! In fact, I’ve seen the first film more than thirty times. Tim Burton directing, Danny Elfman’s music and Michael Keaton together again? It was bound to be a treat! Unless you’re very ill-willed and full of bad faith.

In any case, Keaton is in top form! He’ll always be remembered by some as the best Batman (in 1989 and 1992). I remember people being much more impressed by Jack Nicholson as the Joker than Michael as Batman… even though Beetlejuice was an even better character than the Joker. Do you want proof? Okay!When you see the Joker, you see that it’s Nicholson. On the other hand, Beetlejuice, it’s very difficult to realise that it’s really Keaton. Even today!

We couldn’t make a sequel without Winona Ryder. I’m not a huge fan of hers, although I love Edward Scissorhands (1990), Alien 4 (1997) and Une vie volée – Girl, interrupted (1999).I don’t remember her in the very disturbing Black Swan (2010). I’ll have to see it again. I confess I still haven’t seen Little Women (1994), although I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy it.

Ahhhh! So happy to see Catherine O’Hara again! Inimitable, irreplaceable. AAAAHHHH!So thrilled to find Jenna Ortega in the cast! I can’t say any more, or I’d be writing a whole new novel.

Among the newcomers is Willem Dafoe. This guy can play anything. You can see him anywhere. He’ll always be fabulous, talented and true to himself. Arthur Conti is the new hunk on duty. Very destabilising!

Burn Gorman made me laugh out loud in his role as the priest. His grimaces, mimicry and dancing at the end. Just crazy!It allowed me to see another side of this actor who traumatised me in Watcher (2022). Yes, yes, the one with Maika Monroe. Not The Watcher (2000), in which Keanu Reeves had one of his best roles. Good old Keanu! Nice person, but not always a good actor!Also not to be confused with The Watcher (2018) with the duo Nicolas Cage & Robin Tunney. Justin Theroux as Rory slightly replaces Otto. Same sort of character, I suppose. Quite appearance and money based. As for Monica Bellucci… well… What can I say? Mmmmmm!And how to say it?Wait… it’s coming!Yes !It’s clear that she’s only there because she’s Tim Burton’s new girlfriend. Her character doesn’t add much. People are always happy to see her just because she’s so beautiful. Well, she manages to be funny and slightly scary too, but if her character hadn’t been there, it wouldn’t have made much difference. The least I wanted was for her not to spoil the film… Fortunately she didn’t! Because, as you’ll have realised, this film is an excellent sequel. I was in the USA when it came out. So I’ve already seen it twice in VO at the cinema: once there, once here. Almost everything is intact. The opening credits, for example!The faces that were distorted are done through telephones here. Which is quite an update. The music is back. The sand snake too! :-DBob has a big part.And… Warning: Spoilers Alert!!!For those who want to know a little more, Danny DeVito makes a little nod to his Penguin from back in the day. Connoisseurs will understand. Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are not in the film. Probably because of Alec’s current problems.No role for Johnny Depp, Burton’s favourite. I’d have loved to, though…

Who knows… if there will be a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? We can always dream and hope. This was a very ambitious project.You can’t make a sequel to a film like this without really thinking it through, working on it, planning it, fine-tuning it. And it seems to me that this gamble has paid off. There’s always the model.Still the doors drawn on the walls and the three knocks to activate them. There’s still the waiting room for the dead, and the book of instructions in case of death. There are some pretty gory scenes with the baby, and the ending goes peanuts… But since it doesn’t really end, we can imagine a sequel.The film disregards the cartoon and really follows the first opus… despite its 36-year gap. No post-generic scene, if ever. But you can always check!

My Rating