Un mitico viaggio

Who says sequels can't be as good as originals? This movie proves that that is not always true. It was well-written, more mature, and just out-and-out funnier than its predecessor. Alex Winter once again showed great comic timing as Bill, although the film was absolutely stolen by William Sadler as Death ("Don't overlook MY butt. I work out every day, and reaping burns a lot of calories"). Some may call it stupid humor, but that's not really the case; the funniest scenes in the movie - such as the Twister scene or "20 Questions" - are original, well-played, and just plain clever. We all know Keanu Reeves has never been known so much for his acting, but he's above his average here, and Winter, Sadler, and George Carlin are all great fun.

Certainly this film can't appeal to everyone. If the idea of, say, Death playing Battleship, Clue, and Twister doesn't seem funny to you, you probably won't like it (although you may want to lighten up a little). If it does, well then you'll probably agree with me on this: Bill & Ted rock!!!

I can't tell you how many times I saw the first Bill & Ted movie before ever seeing this sequel...because it was a sequel, so I figured it wouldn't be as good. I was wrong. I first saw it on television; my sister watched it with me. I couldn't stop laughing. She kept shaking her head, saying, "it's not funny, it's stupid" - but she kept laughing, too. How can you not laugh at the sight of Death playing Twister? Or, "You ugly, red, source of all evil!!" I loved the first movie, but I think the second, despite being darker, is funnier, more imaginative, and better written. William Sadler as Death was so, so, funny, so dead on (no pun intended), he deserved an Oscar nomination; this film made him one of my favorite character actors. Alex Winter & Keanu Reeves made Bill & Ted into airheads you root for. They're stupid, sure, but man are they good-hearted! So thumbs up from me; a third Bill & Ted movie would probably be too much, but they did go out in fine style. Catch you later, Bill & Ted!

It was only on my second viewing, years later, that I realized two things about this movie: 1) I enjoyed it immensely, and 2) that because its execution is decidedly sharper than the premise itself warrants. I had laughed my way through the movie before it occurred to me to renew my initial protests--valleyspeak and loogies and airheadedness (even *good*-natured airheadedness) just aren't inherently funny, especially when drawn out to feature length. But though the movie's momentum does begin to sputter out towards the end, Reeves and Winter and Sadler (and Hal Landon Jr. in an unforgettable scene) display such a remarkable sense of comic timing throughout that even the more clumsily-scripted jokes (e.g. Ted failing to recognize a certain inhabitant of Hell) work as effortlessly as the witter ones (e.g. the challenge). And the teaming of Winter and Reeves clicks so well that the teaming of Bill and Ted (who spend only one scene separated in the entire movie, disaster if they're not well-matched) appears utterly unstrained.

(Side note: I found the first movie to be only sporadically entertaining--sightly different comic sensibilities there, it seems.)

I give it a 7.75. Surprisingly good fun.

Oh, come on, learn to have a little fun. When I was a kid, oh, this movie was Oscar-worthy to me. I thought it was absolutely hysterical. One of the best movies I had seen.

Now, it's a little stupid, but come on. If you enjoyed "Excellent Adventure", you should most likely have fun with "Bogus Journey". This was the movie before "Dude, where's my car?". Only this one is actually funny. Like I said, it's just a good time. It shouldn't be taken seriously and if you enjoyed the first one, you should like "Bogus Journey". It's just a funny movie with some memorable characters. For your enjoyment only, watch it, let go, and remember that it's a silly comedy. That's all.

7/10

"Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" may be a rare example of a sequel that's superior to its predecessor.

It was impossible not to like "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", but the film was far from perfect, with some tedious passages as the duo visited historical locales that were presented believably, but not interestingly.

"Bogus Journey" does away with that problem by simply featuring worlds of fantasy, and creatures of fantasy too. Its special effects are also better, and for the most part, hold up well.

I did, still, find my mind wandering, though, and the plot was kind of hard to follow, but I don't think that's really the point. You're supposed to have a good time, and I did.