For those of us who remember the originals, we can breath a sigh of relief because the basic heart and soul of those still beats in the third outing of this trilogy. Yes Keanu, sans the John Wick beard, is just starting to show his age, and at times is just mimicking what the fans expect of this character, but, thankfully, he isn't phoning it in just yet. Amazingly, Alex Winter seems even more enthused than his arguably more successful (at least of late) partner in time, and seems to be having a blast just chilling with the old gang. William Sadler is as hysterical as ever, playing Death, who as exiled from the band and injunction from even using the name, because of his 40 minute experimental bass solos, and, the make-up scene between him and the two front men is worth the time it takes to finally get there.

There had to be a hook, besides a mindless rehash of the previous two movies, and "Thea" Preston, and "Billie" Logan playing the opposite named, female progeny of our intrepid hero's, provide that hook, as being raised by fathers tasked with, but never finishing, the EPIC song that would unite the world, have, in spite of outward appearances, somehow "rain manned" a Wikipedic knowledge and insight of all things melodic and musical. This comes in quite handy once their part of the story begins.

It is rumored that Samara Weaving holds no grudge toward Keanu Reeves for repeatedly killing her father, (Hugo Weaving) Agent Smith, in that OTHER Trilogy he made, nor at any time did she smirkingly call him..... MISTER ANDERSON,,,,,,

The ensuing RE-mash of the first two movies follows, with the daughters essentially retracing the journey of the first Bill and Ted movie, with the appropriate musical theme of course, while, the Dads jump time meeting future versions of themselves in the hopes of stealing "the SONG", from themselves, but discovering instead that perhaps living their mission focused lives, and repeatedly failing, caused them to miss out on all the great things in the one they were actually living. Also, they are now pursued by Rufus' daughters ex-boyfriend turned assassin robot, "Dennis Caleb McCoy'", sent by her Mother, Missus Rufus, and played with neurotic aplomb by Anthony Carrigan, in an inspired turn.

Fortunately, in the end, they do indeed get the band back together, and, as we are still here, (for now) the rest I guess, is history.

The best part of which will be said is they DIDN'T screw this one up!!

While Bill and Ted haven't changed over the years, their daughters are just like them!

This movie was just EXCELLENT! I mean, sure Reeves looked weird without his beard, but it was totally RAD to see him and Winter reprising their iconic roles.
It really was just awesome. Made me feel all positive after.
And the final scene...truly the greatest song ever performed!
It just makes you forget about all the recent crap that happened this year.

The most entertaining movie of 2020. *doing the iconic Bill & Ted pose*

It has been 29 years since Bill (Alex Winter), and Ted (Keanu Reeves) took their Bogus Journey and after years of rumors and scripts; “Bill and Ted: Face the Music” has arrived. The film like many others had to contend with the Pandemic and opted for theatrical release where allowed and Video on Demand. Some chains have opted not to carry the film due to the simultaneous release on VOD but viewers can now see the film.

Bill and Ted find themselves struggling to make Wyld Stallions a success as after starting out with a #1 hit; subsequent offerings were largely ignored by the public which caused them to slide further into mediocrity and have family suggesting that perhaps it is time to give music up and get real jobs.

Their inept career has also caused tension with their Princess wives and they have gone to couples counseling although to the dismay of their therapists Bill and Ted insist that all four members take part at the same time.

The only thing going well for the two are their daughters Thea (Samara Weaving), and Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) who truly are chips off the block and not only embrace their father’s offerings but are inseparable themselves.

When a courier from the future (Kristen Schaal), arrives and takes Bill and Ted into the future they learn that they are in danger of failing their destiny as the Universe is falling apart and they have yet to write the song that will save the universe and have only 77 minutes to do so.

The duo then decides to travel to the future in their old Phone Booth and take the song from their older versions. Naturally this does not go as planned and Bill and Ted find all sorts of disturbing versions of themselves and precious little to help them achieve their destiny.

Sadly after the setup the film loses momentum fast and becomes a series of what new and crazy look and personas can Bill and Ted be put into with some very laborious pacing as it seems more like a series of improve sketches than a scripted film as scene after scene fail to go anywhere of note and joke after joke does not deliver.

It almost became tedious watching the second half of the film. There was a killer robot thrown in but it did little to advance the story forward beyond being a token bad guy and becomes annoying as the film goes on. Thea and Billie take on the role of their dads from the first film and gather a collection of musicians from the past in order to back their dads but the entire finale falls flat. What really bothered me was that the film in many ways undermines the two prior films as it was clearly established that the music of Bill and Ted was their legacy; not one specific song and the way it is ultimately revealed is very underwhelming and reduces their significance.

It was nice to see the duo back but sadly the film cannot build upon nor sustain the solid premise it establishes. In the end “Bill and Ted: Face the Music” has a few laughs and some fun nostalgia but disappoints and does not reach its potential.

2.5 stars out of 5
www.sknr.net

Like its message, 'Bill & Ted Face The Music' is for everyone. If you didn't watch or like the originals because they were “crude“ or “dumb“, while this movie still has those moments, it has been toned down. If you're a die-hard fan, this will fill your hunger for content as well as serve as a beautiful conclusion to the characters. Even if you've never seen the originals, I highly recommend it to everyone: it's rated PG so literally (while socially distancing) take the whole family, have an truly excellent and much-needed laugh, and enjoy the so totally rad music.

Bill and Ted said it best: “Be excellent to each other and party on, dudes!“
- Chris dos Santos

Read Chris' full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-bill-and-ted-face-the-music-the-totally-excellent-most-bogus-return-of-80s-icons