Fantasy Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice returns!

[Drizzle]

This movie is such a ton of fun. Feels like such a blast to the past without having to lean on nostalgia. It's been such a long time since Burton made a film this good, I didn't think he had it in him anymore.

Perfect movie for the Halloween season.

Yeah, apart from the opening credits (which nostalgia bait or not was still awesome) and the "Day-O" callback, there really weren't many blatant "Hey, remember this from the first movie?" winks to the audience. I don't recall Beetlejuice saying his famous "It's showtime" in it either, which would have been an easy gimme for a callback line. It really forged its own path without using the first movie as a crutch.

 

[Snow Queen]

Probably makes a difference that it's the same director and not someone who grew up loving the original like most legacy sequels.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Probably makes a difference that it's the same director and not someone who grew up loving the original like most legacy sequels.

Well yeah, I never really thought about it before, but how many legacy sequels actually have the original director returning and not just the original actor(s)?

 

[Kane52630]

So yeah, this was just fine, not really the long-awaited sequel that we've all been waiting for. Still, Keaton rocks in this, and the practical effects team was amazing.

 

[Ninjablade]

Well yeah, I never really thought about it before, but how many legacy sequels actually have the original director returning and not just the original actor(s)?

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is kind of the only one I can think of.

 

[Drizzle]

Well yeah, I never really thought about it before, but how many legacy sequels actually have the original director returning and not just the original actor(s)?

Mad Max: Fury Road, although that one is the opposite where it's the same director but a different cast.

Also Trainspotting 2 and The Matrix Resurrections kind of, even though it's short one Wachowski.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Very much considering giving this a second viewing on Tuesday if I have the time. It's easily in my top 3 legacy sequels ever, and the more I think about it, the more that feeling grows.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[BatLobster]

Just saw it a second time, still love it. Legitimately think the third act and climax of this one surpasses that of the original. It's just so entertaining, bizarre, funny and weirdly emotional to me. The history of MacArthur Park is really strange and interesting too, was just reading about it. It was an inspired choice by Burton- this movie is its own flavor of weird and that song captured it well.

 

[Drizzle]

Spoiler

Was a whole dummy really necessary or did they just say "Screw it, we already have his head cast for the prosthetics. Let's just make a dummy so he doesn't have to stand still."? It was noticeable in at least one shot.

 

[Batgirl0202]

I saw the original Beetlejuice for the first time last Spooky Season and loved it. I'll definitely be checking out the sequel when it hits steaming...

WB is another studio quietly having a pretty decent year. Disney is grabbing all the headlines but so far Dune, Godzilla x Kong, Twisters, and now Beetlejuice have all done well for the studio, with Challengers gathering some awards buzz...

 

[BatLobster]

Spoiler

Was a whole dummy really necessary or did they just say "Screw it, we already have his head cast for the prosthetics. Let's just make a dummy so he doesn't have to stand still."? It was noticeable in at least one shot.

I mean, maybe, but I also think they did it because it’s supposed to be kind of noticeable and goofy.

It’s easy to forget that even in the first film, Burton wanted the effects to feel more old school and tacky. In that Fangoria article @blueharvest posted above, he says that the approach was “not to do the effects ILM style”. You realize it wasn’t just because of budget limitations or the time period, but part of an intended idiosyncratic vision. That spirit was definitely alive here, even if there was a bit more CGI to touch things up here and there. But even the way the CG was done still felt of a piece with the style to me and never pulled me out of it.

 

[TheVileOne]

Was it ever said why Lydia couldn't see her ex husband's ghost? or was it just never explained! I felt like maybe I missed something

Spoiler

He was stuck in bureaucratic hell?

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I had an absolute blast with this one. Against all the many, many odds, I feel Burton and his team made a film they can be proud of. Keaton, Ryder and O'Hara slip right back in, and their performances seem even richer/more thoughtful than before.

Yes, there was a little too much going on at times, but I think that's part of the charm.

This was a gift for me and I can't to see it again later this week.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

Spoiler

He was stuck in bureaucratic hell?

fair but, he did say "even though, you couldn't see me, I checked in on you" or something like that... maybe he just meant he was able to watch them from a distance (on some monitoring screen/portal to the living world?) idk I guess was just expecting a bigger reveal of "Why" the way they talked about

 

[Primal Slayer]

$145mill Global opening. SUCCESS

 

[DarkKnight88]

The fact they kept the budget fairly low for a film like this (100M), they’re just cleaning up at this point.

I’ll tell you, as excited as I was, I thought this would do more Ghostbusters: Afterlife kind of numbers. Very good for a 36 year later sequel. But this really just blew up!

 

[sdgrandia86]

I enjoyed the movie and like how it expanded the lore and didnt rely on rehashing old jokes however it felt a bit short as a movie and could have benefited from extra time to tie some of the plot points better.

The end was awesome but it did feel a bit rushed and reminded more of a live action Bettlejuice cartoon in the way they really explored the underworld which is not bad, just needed an extra five minutes or so.

I feel like the first movie served as a proper intro to the lore, this expanded and time was spent evenly in the earth and underworld realm which I liked.

If a third movie is made I hope it expands deeper into the underworld or we see some kind of underworld takeover the town; it could make for some wacky scenarios.

 

[Teelie]

I liked it but the ending felt very abrupt and there were a few plotlines that seemed to just breeze through the story and then it's over... until they maybe, possibly do a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sometime before Burton and Keaton are pushing 100. Burton seemed unlikely to return though.

 

[Drizzle]

The fact they kept the budget fairly low for a film like this (100M), they’re just cleaning up at this point.

I’ll tell you, as excited as I was, I thought this would do more Ghostbusters: Afterlife kind of numbers. Very good for a 36 year later sequel. But this really just blew up!

It's off to a better start than I had originally thought too. I really think that apart from it being a Beetlejuice sequel, it's brought a lot of Burton fans out of the woodwork who've been waiting years to see him go back to his roots.

 

[Lily Adler]

But did Lauren Boebert grope her man in attendance of this movie?

 

[samsnee]

I enjoyed it but not as good as the first. As others have said, feels like they two stories they wanted to make and undercooked both. Monica Belluci’s character could have been taken out entirely and nothing would have changed.

But Keaton and Ryder were fantastic in this. Jenna was fine. She didn’t really have much to go off of but did what she could with it.

Baby Beetlejuice looked exactly like Quato from Total Recall

And I swear when Delia cuts the line in the afterlife, there’s a guy who is painter in all gold that looks like a certain presidential candidate. Wonder if that was an intentional reference

 

[BrollySupersj]

Saw it Friday night and thought it was great, Keaton has missed a beat as the Ghost With The Most. My only two complaints are not enough Beetlejuice and a few too many plotlines. But overall, it was fun. Glad I went to see it.

 

[DarkKnight88]

The numerous plotlines didn't bother me at all to be honest since the movie just kept moving along. What a fun ride, and the audience I was with were really digging it. I can see this playing big up until October when WB will most likely release this on digital for Halloween.

Definitely Burton's best film since Frankenweenie. But Wednesday was a good indication of things to come.

Also, did anyone catch the jab at Disney in the movie?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Me for the next two months: