Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review

 

The original Beetlejuice felt like an acquired taste. It was a whole lot of fun inventine storytelling but it just didn't do much for me when I first saw it a number of years ago. It's now 2024 and Michael Keaton returns to don the vibrant suit and wig well over 30 years later. Directed once again by Tim Burton Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a fun trip into the afterlife and beyond. After the events of the original movie Winona Ryder's character Lydia Deetz is now a paranormal investigator with her very own TV show. She has a daughter named Astrid but her world is turned upside down when her father dies and she and her family go back to the house where the original movie took place to lay him to rest. 

What follows is pure Beetlejuice madness as while everything with the Deetz family is going on Beetlejuice has problems of his own as his ex wife has been put back together so to speak. She's vowed revenge and is on his tail for the most part of the movie. As young Astrid gets tricked by a demon of her own it's up to Lydia to call upon Beetlejuice once again for help in locating her daugther in the afterlife and getting her back home. 

Michel Keaton is as whacky and funny as he was in the original movie. The effects are varied and fantastical throughout as stopmotion, CGI and a wide variety of smoke and mirrors are used to enhance the world of the afterlife and sometimes the land of the living. Winona Ryder is good here and Jenna Ortega who plays Astrid is convincing as her daughter. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice isn't quite hilarious but it will bring quite an amount of smiles and chuckles. Tim Burton's unique and whacky world of creation is one to marvel at that's for sure as the visual are pretty much the standout throughout. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a worthy follow up to the original movie and proves that Tim Burton still has it in spades. Really fun!

★★★★