Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is hitting theaters soon, and first reactions are starting to roll in. So how do early audiences feel about this long-awaited sequel?
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00:00Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! is hitting theaters soon, and first reactions are starting to roll in.
00:05So how do early audiences feel about this long-awaited sequel?
00:08The juice is loose.
00:10Tim Burton's follow-up to his 1988 classic Beetlejuice brings Katherine O'Hara and Wynonna
00:14Ryder back as Delia Deets and Lydia Deets, alongside Michael Keaton, of course, as Beetlejuice.
00:19Don't ever say that name!
00:21New cast members include Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.
00:26The movie officially hits theaters in the United States on September 6th,
00:29but critics who got to see an advanced screening are finally chiming in with
00:32their thoughts on social media. What's the initial verdict on Beetlejuice!
00:35Beetlejuice! based on critics who saw the movie at the Venice Film Festival?
00:39It's pretty good, apparently.
00:40IndieWire's Sophia Monks-Kaufmann posted her official review on Axe,
00:44formerly known as Twitter, with a blurb that praised Burton's vision, writing,
00:48"[Burton has buried his jamboree of gags, visual spectacle,
00:50and charming practical effects with a distinctly human tale."
00:53Along with their own review, the playlist wrote,
00:55"[Tim Burton is back and at his best in decades."
00:58Other critics, like Emma Sassick, joined in and praised the film, posting,
01:02"[Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!] is ghoulishly fun. Burton honors his first film with throwbacks,
01:06all while expanding his characters and world to make a delightful new story.
01:09The whole cast got the assignment and delivers plenty of laughs.
01:13So many great set pieces in the afterlife, too."
01:15You're working with a professional here!"
01:21Overall, most critics definitely liked Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!,
01:24with several of them chalking its success up to Burton's vision for the sequel.
01:28SlashFilm's Jacob Hall got a chance to see the movie early and offered up his own take, saying,
01:32"[Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!] is a long-awaited return to form for Tim Burton. Between Michael
01:36Keaton's indelible performance and the hordes of practical puppets and mountains of old-school
01:41visual-effects wizardry, this is a sequel that truly understands what made the original feel
01:45so special while building on it in fun, inventive ways."
01:48"'Be warned. It's intense.'"
01:50Moe Mashadi at Nighttide Magazine agreed, posting,
01:54"[Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!] is full of schtick, jokes revisited,
01:57Keaton doing extra, O'Hara being a kicked-up Delia, writers still being strange and unusual,
02:01and Ortega staying angsty. Everything this type of sequel should be."
02:05Barry Levitt, who reviewed the movie for The Daily Beast, liked it, but wanted it to go
02:09even further, writing, "[Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!] is a pretty fun time when it leans into the
02:13afterlife. Monica Bellucci is the underused MVP."
02:16"'Recognize this puss? Never seen that chick before in my life. Or after life.'"
02:20Still, not all critics dug the movie. Richard Lawson at Vanity Fair definitely didn't like the
02:25film based on his ex reactions. On his own accounts, Lawson wrote that the movie, quote,
02:29"'does Lydia Deeds dirty.'"
02:31"'Where's the obnoxious little goth girl who tormented me all those years ago?''
02:34On Vanity Fair's official ex accounts, Lawson summed up his feelings once again, writing,
02:39"'Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!' is yet another legacy sequel that serves as a sad testament
02:43to the original film's ingenuity." Total Film wasn't quite as harsh,
02:46but seemed to mostly agree in their post, which calls the movie,
02:50"'a fun but scattershot frolic in the afterlife.'"
02:52Despite misgivings here and there about Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!
02:55"'Nobody says the B-word, come on.'"
02:57It feels inevitable that the film will perform pretty well when it officially releases,
03:01especially when you consider the overwhelming affection fans feel for the original movie.
03:05Plus, modern deadpan scream queen Ortega has proven that she's pretty good at this sort of thing.
03:09"'Pain and suffering are always inevitable.' "'Where have you been all my life?''
03:12In any case, the buzz is primarily positive, so fans can start getting ready for spooky season
03:17when the movie hits theaters on September 6th, 2024, although international audiences
03:21will get it two days earlier on September 4th.
03:25"'Now's my chance.'"