Beetlejuice 2

The Clown Prince of Crime said:

It's almost like people forgot how energetic he was in the first film. It's too bad...hopefully he's got more energy in the film.

Click to expand...

He was a young comedian in the 80s. Probably all coked up.

I mean.... it has been 36 years, time will do that.
I'm not expecting him to have the same energy level, but I do hope he still has passion for the character.
I keep using this comparison but the three witch actresses in Hocus Pocus 2 were visibly older and less energetic than they were 30 years ago - but by god you could tell they were having so much fun revisiting these characters, and that makes all the difference.

lordnastrond said:

I mean.... it has been 36 years, time will do that.
I'm not expecting him to have the same energy level, but I do hope he still has passion for the character.
I keep using this comparison but the three witch actresses were visibly older and less energetic than they were 30 years ago - but by god you could tell they were having so much fun revisiting these characters, and that makes all the difference.

Click to expand...

he's literally rotting ....mmm its gonna catch up to him.

It's definitely got the Tim Burton vibe.....but that's getting tired as well.

I didn't want or need an origin story....

Here comes the "understanding the villain" trope and making BG to be an OK misunderstood guy......

The exact story I was dreading.

I just read something about his screen time that I do not like at all.

Just got back from seeing this. I can’t believe how flat and uninspired this was. Keaton is totally neutered and not nearly as funny and outrageous as he was in the first movie. Lydia’s character was completely butchered seeming so they could use the same arc she had in the first movie for Jenna Ortega. Monica Bellucci had a ton of setup but was completely squandered. Overall it genuinely feels like a cheap Disney+ sequel. Why did they even bother?

My daughter couldn't wait so I took her to see this tonight.

On the positive side, it's probably the best tim Burton movie I've seen since Big Fish. On the negative side, that's really not saying much.

Was decent though. Story was fine, cinematography was good. It captured the mood and design of the original well. The way they handled the absence of the pedophile guy was pretty great. But it did feel somewhat hollow despite all that. This was clearly a cash grab but a serviceable one.

Keaton put in some real work and channeled the original character very well. He was charming and quite funny at times. There is also a baby beetlejuice that was great.

Catherine O'Hara also did a very good job, aa she typically does. And Defoe was typically engaging and energetic. Ryder phoned it in, but then again, I don't think she's ever been a particularly good actress. Was similar to her stranger things performance. Maybe that's all she is capable of. Same thing with the young girl, though I suppose being emo and having flat affect is the idea.

I didn’t love the first movie…

This one made me a fan.

Keaton and Ohara were brilliant… the heel was great too.

I enjoyed Wynnona’s quirkiness (she doesn’t have to really act to achieve this)

This will be on my yearly Halloween playlist…

10/10

I'm watching it tomorrow. Can't wait for it

Hottest temps we've ever had in LA so maybe I'll retreat to a cold theater to watch this over the weekend. The wife wants to see it for some reason, even though she doesn't really care about the first movie.

For those of you who saw the film, does BJ do the spinning head thing from the first film? I ask because the effects looked like crap in the original, and when Burton made Alice in Wonderland, he had the Mad Hatter, played by Johnny Depp, doing the head spin at the end of the film, and it looked much better with CGI. Anyway, I always thought that belonged to BJ, so I kind of want him to reclaim it in this film. He also used to do it a lot in the 90's cartoon.

I wanted the Kenner Beetlejuice figure as a kid. He could spin his head around.

I don't know what the toy companies had against movie accurate figures back then, but nothing ever looked like it should.

The only way to get a proper Beetlejuice was to put the head from the Spinhead one on the body of the Showtime one. I thought it was sucky to have to buy two figures just to get the one look you want.

Sadly, toy companies continue this predatory practice today.

I never did get that Kenner Beetlejuice. I'd buy it if I ever saw it at a thrift store or something, but I'm not going out of my way for it.

Otomofan said:

I wanted the Kenner Beetlejuice figure as a kid. He could spin his head around.

I don't know what the toy companies had against movie accurate figures back then, but nothing ever looked like it should.

The only way to get a proper Beetlejuice was to put the head from the Spinhead one on the body of the Showtime one. I thought it was sucky to have to buy two figures just to get the one look you want.

Sadly, toy companies continue this predatory practice today.

I never did get that Kenner Beetlejuice. I'd buy it if I ever saw it at a thrift store or something, but I'm not going out of my way for it.

Click to expand...

That was my first BJ.

I only had the Showtime BJ, so I hated that he was stuck with the umbrella head. I also hated the yellow shirt and red tie. The face and rest of the body looked pretty good for the time. I remember painting his eye shadow black, because I didn't like the blue color it came with.

The Clown Prince of Crime said:

For those of you who saw the film, does BJ do the spinning head thing from the first film? I ask because the effects looked like crap in the original, and when Burton made Alice in Wonderland, he had the Mad Hatter, played by Johnny Depp, doing the head spin at the end of the film, and it looked much better with CGI. Anyway, I always thought that belonged to BJ, so I kind of want him to reclaim it in this film. He also used to do it a lot in the 90's cartoon.

Click to expand...

Pretty sure he did once.

I still have the purple suit Beetlejuice toy somewhere but it's in rough shape. I played with the BW striped suit one when I was a kid until it fell apart.

Just got back from watching the film.

The film was underwhelming. I think I'll end up liking it much more once I see it a few times on tv. It's not as good as the first film, but I think it might have replay value down the line.

This film is what it must be like to watch Iron Maiden, The Rolling Stones, Guns N Roses or any of those old past their prime bands in 2024. It's just alright. Visually, it's a good-looking film, with a lot of nice practical effects. The afterlife scenes are the most interesting.

The film felt flat, uninspired even. My boy BJ, he's just not the same anymore. There are glimpses of the old energetic, Looney Tunes like BJ from 1988, but for the majority of the film, he just doesn't have that spark. The editing helps to give the illusion at times that he moves like a cartoon, coming in and out of frame. I don't think the writing was good, so that didn't help either. Having said that, I think this film could have used a bit more BJ. His scenes are mostly good.

I think the best way to put it, the first film does everything better. Even the climax, and the buildup to Lidia unleashing BJ at the end and the entire wedding sequence that follows was done much better in the original.

As for the rest of the cast, Jena Ortega is cute, and a good actress. She was good in the role, as someone who doesn't believe in ghosts.

Winona spent the whole film scared or surprised. She didn't feel like an older version of her original character, but they do mention it in the film, so that was on purpose it seems.

Catherine O'Hara felt like the same character from the first film, but she didn't have a lot to work with in the film.

Justin Theroux was pretty good in a role that I'm not sure it was necessary

Willem Dafoe and Monica Belluci are good as well, but their characters and subplots are completely unnecessary and add nothing to the plot, other than somewhat entertaining scenes.

One thing I'll give the movie, there are several subplots that could have been dramatic or "emotional", and they chose not to do that at all. Death in this film is not taken too seriously, so most of it is played for laughs or morbidly humorous.

6/10

I was pleasantly surprised by it. Maybe it was because I had lowered expectations but found it quite enjoyable. Impossible to top a classic like the original but to me this was a worthy sequel.

Michael Keaton is still great and the rest of the cast was good as well. Catherine O’Hara in particular really stood out to me.

One of Burton’s best efforts in a while too. It felt like everyone found their way right back into this universe. Some story stuff could have been tightened up but not enough where I was bothered.

How did this movie not do the most obvious thing imaginable and open with Beetlejuice’s number finally being called?

karamazov80 said:

Pretty sure he did once.

Click to expand...

No, he didn't.

Actually, he slowly turned his head 360 degrees, but that doesn't count. If anything, it's a perfect metaphor for this BJ and film.



In the original, he randomly spun his head maniacally for no reason. In the new one, he slowly turned his head as if it were a slower version of the original. The effect looked cool tho.

Just got back. It wasn't terrible, but not great either. The pacing seemed off and there were too many storylines happening simultaneously. I also didn't like how some of those storylines, notably DaFoe's and Bellucci's, didn't amount to anything and felt unnecessary.

On the other hand, the titular character was still a lot of fun. I liked the eye-popping scene and SOL scene (I want an SOL stamp now haha). Catherine O'Hara was excellent. I found Justin Theroux's character somewhat entertaining. I thought some of his lines were funny. The rest of the cast was good also, even if their storylines fell flat.

All in all, it's an alright movie. If you enjoyed the original or just want to watch something weird and whacky, go see it. Just don't go in with super high expectations