Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
I’m struggling not to give this movie a much lower rating, but I want to be fair. After watching it in the cinema, I settled on 3 stars. Why? Because it’s not good, it’s not bad—it’s just… watchable. And, to me, that’s the worst thing about it.
When you have a movie as iconic as the original Beetlejuice, which was way ahead of its time, and you wait 36 years to release a sequel, you expect something great. You expect them to swing for the fences. Instead, what we got is a movie with no clear story—or rather, a bunch of stories that don’t really matter and get resolved in about 10 minutes. It feels dull and uninspired, which is the last thing I want from a Tim Burton movie.
Love him or hate him, Burton usually takes risks. His films always swing for something different. But this one? It doesn’t even try. And the saddest part? Looking at the box office predictions, it doesn’t need to try, because we’ll all show up for the nostalgia. We get lost in what we loved about the original and don’t even notice how lazy this one is.
Michael Keaton tries to bring back the Beetlejuice magic, but even his performance feels off at times. It’s like he knows he doesn’t need to try harder—no one else is. And the rest of the cast follows suit, just moving from one scene to the next. Maybe Catherine O’Hara is the exception, but that’s about it.
There are some new characters, but honestly, take them out of the movie, and it wouldn’t make a difference. Can someone explain why Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe are even in this? Seriously, watch it and let me know.
Jenna Ortega is a talented actress, but after Wednesday, this role feels like a greatest hits remix of her past work. She doesn’t bring the range needed for the more dramatic scenes that could have elevated her character.
Visually, the movie looks good—there are some strange stylistic choices, but overall, it’s fine. And, of course, Danny Elfman’s iconic score still gives me goosebumps every time it plays. Unfortunately, that’s about the only thing at the same level as the original.
It doesn’t come close to the magic of the original, and the worst part? It never even tries. What other movies do you think fail to deliver a new experience and just milk nostalgia for all it’s worth?⠀
