Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

4/10

Starring          

Michael Keaton

Winona Ryder

Catherine O'Hara

Jenna Ortega

Justin Theroux

Monica Bellucci

Willem Dafoe

 

Directed by Tim Burton

 

Thirty-six years after the masterpiece Beetlejuice (1988), I was excited to see what the sequel would bring. The filmmakers tried to keep the quirky charm of the original, from the character designs to the special effects, but they forgot about the important thing, a good plot. The movie tries to recreate the magic from the original, but I felt it failed to do that.

The story felt so unfocused and was weighed down with too many characters, with their own subplots unlike in the first film. All this distracted from making the movie very memorable, exciting and impactful. Instead of a meaningful continuation, this movie felt more like fan service.

Characters like Delores (Monica Bellucci) and Wolf (Willem Dafoe) really frustrated me. They felt unnecessary, like filler, and removing them wouldn’t have changed the ending one bit. At first, Delores seems like she’s being set up as the main villain, but the plot quickly moves past her without much thought. This lack of focus made the movie feel scattered, and the humor that worked in the first movie often fell flat here.

One new addition is Astrid (Jenna Ortega), Lydia’s daughter. I liked the idea of exploring Lydia’s relationship with her daughter and how their estrangement adds layers to the story, but I wish it had been done better. Lydia (Winona Ryder), now embracing her ghost seeing abilities, has turned it into a means of making money as the host of Ghost House with Lydia Deetz. She is also dating her producer, which doesn’t help her relationship with Astrid. But even with that setup, I felt like the emotional depth was missing. Astrid explains why they’re estranged, but Lydia’s perspective is never fully explored.

The movie hints at how weird and neglectful Lydia’s family is, but I didn’t feel like it was explored enough either. A stronger focus on those family dynamics could’ve added more emotional weight and made their dysfunction more meaningful.

One thing I noticed is how much screentime Beetlejuice has this time around. He spends most of the movie trying to get Lydia’s attention from the land of the dead.

Astrid got into trouble and found herself in the underworld, because of her crush with a guy which turns out not to work out the way she would have wanted, Lydia reluctantly calls on Beetlejuice to help her. So, we are watching how Beetlejuice is trying to save Astrid and con his way to get Lydia to do what he wants.

In the end, the charm of Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice was not enough to carry the movie for me. I walked away feeling like this movie missed the mark. It’s entertaining in bits and pieces, tried to ride on fans nostalgia, but lacks the charm and wit of the first film. For me, this sequel just doesn’t live up to the legacy of Beetlejuice (1988).