Bill & Ted Face the Music Review

August 30, 2020 at 7:22pm
By Jason Stettner

It’s been a long time, and the legendary time traveling rock duo has yet to create the perfect song that would unite the world. This is where the latest journey starts with the now quite aged Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) playing to really tiny crowds at rather lame gigs.

The years have taken a toll on their lives, and their wives. That being their marriage, but the last sentence sort of rhymed well. They do have some really similar daughters with Kelly (Kristen Schaal) and Thea (Samara Weaving). The latter of which is always a joy to see in essentially any role.

I thought the pair matched their fathers well, and really went all out for this one. The film is definitely tonally the same to the other two, and definitely feels consistent to what’s come before. It’s a dive through history, with what I felt was a tad more of the future this time around. They’re definitely respectful to the legacy of the series with some returning faces in either a cameo stance, or even a fun returning role such as William Sadler’s Death.

The jokes generally land, and you even see some rather hilarious adjustments to the duo as they deal with the cruel twists of time. It’s still very light in terms of the gravity of the situation which is expected. It’s warm hearted and filled with many smaller twists that keep things fresh. I definitely had some good laughs with this one throughout whether it was in regards to the situation, or the references at play.

Again, the performances were largely spot on for the cast and there should be some fun returning faces you’ll notice. They presented some really wacky locations, and many weird situations. There are a number of surprise cameos and the future looks rather cool.

The music was solid, though I’m not necessarily sure you’ll see a regular world hit number out of the soundtrack. I did find the robot a tad annoying, just in regards to the latter portions. That was kind of really awkward. For the most part things were handled very well in this.

It had good pacing, played with the elements of time and reality in very fun ways. It was straight forward, nothing too wildly odd or hard to follow. It was just an enjoyable fun sort of ride for the duo alongside the other additions to the cast. Building on that legacy, while also adding to it.

The Conclusion

Bill & Ted Face the Music is a worthy follow-up bringing with it familiar, yet aged faces and a plot that feels right on brand with the movies that came before it. This is definitely faithful to the legacy of this franchise while also doing some new things with it. It seemed like everyone was having a blast, and the start of this journey felt somewhat realistic considering the two that were at the helm.

It was fun to see them moving forward, while their daughters went the other way. It came together in a very satisfying way that was engaging and generally funny throughout. It had some good twists, funny plot points and so many unique locations. The pacing was excellent, it went along fast while not slowing down for anything.

That is, aside from some key calmer points that helped develop the characters of narrative. These were important though. It was great to see this aged duo finally hit that one final moment in a way that only Bill and Ted really could. It’s time to face the music and fulfill a destiny that’s been many decades in the making.

Bill & Ted Face the Music Review at Home with Digital Viewing

Rating Overall: 7.5