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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Rotten Tomatoes Score Debuts Below Original 1988 Movie (But It’s Still Fresh)
The first reviews forBeetlejuice Beetlejuiceare out following its premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. Tim Burton’s long-awaited sequel sees Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara reprising their respective roles as Betelgeuse, Lydia Deetz, and Delia Deetz, while Jenna Ortega joins the cast as Lydia’s rebellious daughter Astrid. Other newcomers to theBeetlejuice Beetlejuicecastinclude Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, and Monica Bellucci.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s initial reviews are generally positive, withScreen Rant’s Alex Harrison praising the film for"prov[ing] you may fill a movie like this with callbacks to the original and still make it feel like its own, unified experience.“IGN’s Siddhant Adlakha commends the sequel for embracing its tone, as"each decision Burton makes here is simply geared towards cartoonishly macabre fun in the vein of its predecessor.“This sense of fun is also expressed byIndieWire’s Sophie Kaufman, who notes that"these two worlds and the rules that enable characters to move between them remains an all-consuming pleasure.”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Is Poised To Be Tim Burton’s Best-Received Film In Years
The Legacy Sequel Is An Overdue Success For Burton
Withthe main thread inBeetlejuice Beetlejuice’s reviews being that it works as a fun legacy sequel, this bodes well for it beingBurton’s best-received projectin a decade or more. The last film he directed, the live-action remake ofDumbo, was poorly received and is considered one of Disney’s worst live-action remakes. Prior toDumbo, Burton’s adaptation of the popular fantasy novelMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Childrenby Ransom Riggs was met with a lukewarm reception.
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceends the streak of negative to lukewarm reactions, withVariety’s Owen Gleiberman emphasizing that"what the new movie delivers is honest nostalgia for the moment when Burton’s clown-spirit-from-hell sensibility still had a frisson of shock value.“Not all critics are won over by Burton returning to the sensibilities of his best works, though, asThe Guardian’s Xan Brooks notes that"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice beats back to the scene of past triumphs. It’s once, twice, three times a lazily amiable horror sequel.“The balance between nostalgia and innovation is seemingly difficult for the legacy sequel.
Despite not being as groundbreaking as its predecessor,Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceappears to beBurton’s best moviein years and a return to form.It is a much-needed and fitting resurgence for Burtonafter directing and producing several lackluster adaptations.Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceis grounded in the stylistic and narrative preferences that make Burton’s best films feel distinct, this time in a manner brimming with the director’s own brand of nostalgia.
Source: Various (see above)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
