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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Movie Review

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a 2024 dark fantasy comedy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega. It’s such a mediocre sequel.

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“The juice is loose!“

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After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife. This movie marks one of the biggest gaps between an original and its sequel – 35 years. The result is a muddled, mellow and misguided effort at recapturing the magic of the original. Everything in this sequel is inferior to what came before it, which made its existence pointless.

Going into this flick I’d expected a fun time. This is because the critics led me to believe that this will be an entertaining sequel that is almost on par with the original. But what I actually got was a lazy, boring sequel that lacked the excitement, the magic and the energy of the first film. Even worse, it was misguided in its attempt to make this material more emotional and mature. The words human story get thrown a lot around this movie, but why would anyone ask for that in a Beetlejuice film is beyond me.

Let’s talk about the characters. First off, the titular demon. Yes, Beetlejuice still looks like himself due to the practical make-up effects that are the same as they were before. But spiritually this is simply not the same guy. Michael Keaton is too old to be playing this role. This criticism may sound like ageism, but it is the truth and there is no escaping that fact. He was seriously lacking in energy and physical gags. As a result, we have this subdued and less funny version of a character that was always supposed to be hyperactive and manic. It just did not work.

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Others fared much better, but with a few caveats. Catherine O’Hara is one of the absolute standouts. She is always a delight and here she stole the movie. Some of her scenes were so funny, especially those playing off of her narcissism. How they killed off her husband in the most gruesome manner was hilarious and fitting when you realize what that actor did in real life. I also liked Justin Theroux quite a bit at first as some of his lines were amusing, but eventually his character arc became something else and I didn’t care for it. Willem Dafoe is typecast in a smaller role. He’s fine and he has some moments, but overall I didn’t care for his scenes all that much. And the less said about Monica Bellucci, the better. This character was pointless and they never went anywhere with her.

As for the main so-called human story at the center, it concerns this mother-daughter story that is the crux of the movie. It worked and I am not questioning the power of those scenes, but this huge emphasis on serious family drama only further hindered the film’s pace and humor. Winona Ryder is fine, but she was never a great actress and here some of her more emotional scenes she could not pull off sadly. As for Jenna Ortega, I liked her quite a bit, but the character simply felt boring in comparison to her ‘Wednesday’ personality, which was disappointing to see.

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is visually dazzling, there is no denying that. The use of practical effects and make-up led to a classical-looking picture that resembled the original in the best way possible. The movie is colorful, meticulously detailed and featuring superb production design, costumes and cinematography. The acting is solid across the board and the score by Danny Elfman is similar to the original but it worked. I just wished for a brisker pace, a better structure and more energy in its execution that was seriously lacking it. The humor is almost non-existent. The fantastical elements worked, but the comedy and horror stuff was underwhelming to say the least.