Luke McWilliams gives his review of the 2020 comedy film, Bill & Ted Face the Music, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.
Via narration from Theadora ‘Thea’ Preston (Samara Weaving) and Wilhelmina ‘Billie’ Logan (Brigette Lundy-Paine), we learn that their fathers Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) have so far failed in their prophesied mission to write a song to unite the world. With time and space crumbling around them, a time-travelling guide (Kristen Schaal) takes them to the future where they are told they have less than two hours to write the song lest reality unravels.
Thrity years ago, we saw Bill and Ted arrive from the future with sons and launch into a rendition of Kiss’s God Gave Rock ‘n Roll to You which (presumably) united the world. We learn however that their offspring are grown-up daughters, that the performance didn’t quite work out, and that Bill and Ted have worked tirelessly since to crack the concept. With reality at stake, Bill and Ted travel to the future to get their song, while their daughters travel into the past to find the perfect bandmates for their fathers (re-treading Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure).
While the world has changed since 1991, Bill and Ted mercifully haven’t. While the movie recaptures the spirit of the Bill & Ted franchise, it is surprisingly lacklustre and lumbering; our heroes merely appear in mildly amusing skits throughout. It is odd, given director Dean Parisot’s nostalgic, but fresh, sprightly and funny Galaxy Quest.
Verdict: A dull re-tread of previous entries which is disappointing given the myriad of story options available via the time-travel/dimension-hopping mechanics. 2.5 stars.
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