'Bill & Ted Face the Music' Review—A Most Excellent Watch

You mean movie theaters are still closed in NYC, meaning that I can't watch The New Mutants, Unhinged, Words on Bathroom Walls, or Cut Throat City? BOGUS.

From director Dean Parisot comes the long-awaited sci-fi adventure comedy, Bill & Ted Face the Music. This film is a sequel to the original two classic films starring Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves as Bill and Ted, two musicians who make up the Wyld Stallyns.

This threequel follows Bill and Ted as they face a visitor from the future who sends them on an adventure to find a song that will save the world and bring harmony to the universe. The first two films in this series have gained a cult following for their absurdity, and with the same writers returning to pen this script, this film is precisely what you would expect.

Bill & Ted Face the Music is the comeback hit for the Wyld Stallyns. It is a nostalgia-heavy sequel filled with familiar faces. Writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson knew what the fans wanted to see and have transformed their keyboards into electric guitars to play their greatest hits.

Whether you have Bill and Ted playing air guitar, their peculiar relationship with Missy, or the iconic, "Be excellent to each other!", fans of the first two are sure to be in for a treat as Winter and Reeves step back into their famous roles with ease.

Bill and Ted have aged considerably since their excellent adventure and bogus journey, and as they face the music this time around, their performances feel a bit contrived. However, Winter and Reeves were able to recapture the magic of these characters adequately. They retain their charm and likability, and it's a joy to see these two faces again.

The film introduces a few new players; Bill and Ted each have daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving). Their chemistry is not explored very much, but they go on a most excellent time-traveling adventure where they bring musical figures from the past to the present, and it's an entertaining subplot.

It's a comedy that works in its expected absurdity. The film has humorous moments, and some of it lands; others, not so much. There is a subplot with the princesses time traveling with their older selves, and this subplot does not have a lot of development, feeling like an afterthought to the main two journeys.

Luckily, the film works. It maintains the same tone from the first two in never being weighed down by dramatic weight or the cliché of having Bill and Ted argue before the final act only to have a resolution and a hug at the end. This movie is pure enjoyment uninterested in hitting dramatic notes.

At times, the plot can feel a bit convoluted, and at other times, the movie tells a lovely story with two middle-aged goofballs. Everyone steps back into their roles very well, and with the improved CGI and the callbacks to the first two, this movie makes for a most excellent watch.

This film is a passable comedy that may not be as iconic or memorable as the first two, but it will keep fans smiling for an hour and a half. The movie strikes the right chords with people who want nostalgia, and it stands on its own as a surprisingly enjoyable movie.

With Bill & Ted Face the Music serving as the trilogy capper 29 years in the making, this series feels complete. It does not feel like the manufactured studio product that some sequels and remakes have become; it's a fun film that reminds you to be excellent to each other and party on, dudes.

Grade: ★★★☆☆ (C+)

Rating: PG-13 for some language (nothing bad, it could be PG)