'Bill & Ted Face The Music' A Review

Bill & Ted Face The Music is a scifi comedy the third installment in the B&T franchise. It's been twenty years since Bill(Alex Winters) and Ted's(Keanu Reeves) excellent adventure and bogus journey but they have yet to make the song that will unite all of space and time. Middle aged and still affable but not quite as upbeat the pair are straining under the burden of humanities salvation. When an emissary from the future tells them they have 78 minutes to play the song that will save the world or it will be destroyed the two set out to find the elusive song. Their daughters Billie(Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea(Samara Weaving) also set out to put together a band to help them out. Filled with the same silly heart of the previous films as well as nostalgia nods and easter eggs this may not hold many surprises but it is a lot of fun.

It is wild to see Winters and Reeves, two grown men, reprise their iconic and most bodacious characters and works surprisingly well. The two age them appropriately but not to a degree where they are unrecognizable, their fun almost symbiotic camaraderie is on display and although we don't get as much jargon or air guitar their friendship and attitude is still contagious. What's really impressive is Lundy-Paine and Weaving's imitation/interpretation of the iconic duo as their offspring, clearly having a blast and recontextualizing these cult characters in the modern world. The film has a lean run time and the story moves quickly so their isn't a lot of time and sit and be with the characters but you wish there would be, for both pairs.

On a relatively modest budget with limited effects the film captures the same light-but-big-hearted adventure and emotion of the previous two. It may not feel as fresh or as unique, there is no surprise some plot retreading, but unlike some other recent 90's franchise flicks Bill & Ted Face The Music hits the right balance, matches the tone of the originals, and feels of a piece as opposed to an after thought or a desperate cash grab. The film may not be amazing but it is clear but a lot of love, care, and attention went into it and it is entertaining.

Best if viewed after revisiting the first two. All three available for rent on most VOD platforms.

Rent It.