Paul Steward reviews new Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter movie Bill & Ted Face the Music.
It’s been 29 years since we last saw them on their bogus journey, but now everyone’s favourite residents of San Dimas, Bill S. Preston and Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan are back to save 2020!
Returning to their iconic roles, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter join franchise newcomers Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine for this long awaited third instalment, Bill and Ted Face the Music.
Now both middle-aged fathers in troubled marriages, Bill and Ted are still desperately trying to write the song that will unite and save the universe.
However, when they are summoned to the future by Kristen Schaal’s Kelly (daughter of their original mentor Rufus) it becomes clear that they are running out of time to fulfil their destiny.
Original writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon return to complete the trilogy, this time with director Dean Parisot (the man behind cult classic Galaxy Quest) and manage to recapture the tone of the two original movies.
The storyline is as chaotic as you would expect from a Bill and Ted film, with the titular pair attempting to steal the ‘one song’ from their future selves, whilst the pair’s daughters Billie and Thea (Weaving and Lundy-Paine) travel through time to collect a band worthy of supporting their fathers.
Reeves and Winter have a blast portraying the multiple iterations of the characters.
Watch out for the pumped up jailbird versions, which are a particularly humorous highlight.
However it is Winter who seems most comfortable, effortlessly slipping back into the character of Bill for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Reeves, who has become a bona fide action hero since then, doesn’t seem quite as at home in the role, displaying an awkward stiffness throughout.
Among the many returning cast members, it’s rather strange to see the roles of Bill and Ted’s English wives recast with younger actresses – Erinn Hayes and Jayma Mays doing the honours this time.
However, it is a delight to see William Sadler reprise his Bogus Journey role as fan favourite Death.
Arguably, the star of the show is the brilliantly named Android Dennis Caleb McCoy, played faultlessly by Anthony Carrigan.
The conflicted Terminator-style robot brings the film’s biggest laughs in the latter stages.
Much like the other two films, Bill and Ted Face the Music is ludicrous to the extreme and hard to dislike.
An inoffensive nostalgia trip which will do little to win over new fans, but will undoubtedly warm the hearts of Bill & Ted devotees.
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