The First Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Reactions Are All Saying The Same Thing
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?
Transcript
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.'"