I loved Bill & Ted! I watched the movies, cartoon, started saying 'dude' and bogus because of it, and hoped that this would be a nostalgic look back to my early teens. And it kind of was, in a way. And there was a sweetness in watching Bill&Ted again fumble their way to saving the world/universe/reality.
But the problems with B&T are the usual problems with most remarks and sequels coming out of Hollywood.
* I'm definitely for equality, but the males (with backstory) in the film are either dysfunctional or complete idiots while the women come to save the day because they're portrayed as smarter and more resourceful. Spread the cluelessness around, and spread the resourcefulness around.
* (Future) Bill&Ted were even painted as being manipulative and nasty in some parts, which is not who they were in the original films.
* the daughters bring everyone together in the end and are credited with creating THE SONG. But neither plays an instrument and just offer some feedback on what each musician was attempting to do. So they don't really have any talent other than telling seasoned and talented musicians what to do (cause the daughters listened to lots of music and therefore know better then them I suppose). If they are to be the heroes then they really should have had stronger parts written for them. Hollywood, if you're going for strong female leads in a film then give the female lead a backstory, with skills that justify them being in that role. No-one deserves a leading role just because they fit a particular demographic.
* the music. What can I say other than there was soooo much more they could have done with this. The music in B&T was build around the time period they were in. Metal & rock were cool at the time so the original films can be placed in a time period. This one however... it's almost like they didn't have a clear idea of what they wanted to portray.
* I have to say I like Bill's daughter and how she tried to go full Bill/Keanu. She nailed a lot of his idiosyncratic movements and facial expression. Ted's daughter though could have been played by anyone. So this missed the beat for me. Either make sure the daughters are girl versions of the Dads, give them their own personalities&mannerisms, or even swap them (Ted's daughter behaves like Bill and vice versa). Unfortunately we got half of one of these.
There are more, but other reviewers have covered these points.
Finally, I just want to say that it's sad that the film missed the point of Bill&Ted - it was never about saving the world, or their marriages. They were just 2 sweet dudes, a little clueless, trying to do what they thought was right in their own way. And we like seeing their positivity come through even when times were rough. And because they were always positive things worked out in the end, sometimes with a little help from Rufus.
There was a glimmer of that here, but not enough.
But the problems with B&T are the usual problems with most remarks and sequels coming out of Hollywood.
* I'm definitely for equality, but the males (with backstory) in the film are either dysfunctional or complete idiots while the women come to save the day because they're portrayed as smarter and more resourceful. Spread the cluelessness around, and spread the resourcefulness around.
* (Future) Bill&Ted were even painted as being manipulative and nasty in some parts, which is not who they were in the original films.
* the daughters bring everyone together in the end and are credited with creating THE SONG. But neither plays an instrument and just offer some feedback on what each musician was attempting to do. So they don't really have any talent other than telling seasoned and talented musicians what to do (cause the daughters listened to lots of music and therefore know better then them I suppose). If they are to be the heroes then they really should have had stronger parts written for them. Hollywood, if you're going for strong female leads in a film then give the female lead a backstory, with skills that justify them being in that role. No-one deserves a leading role just because they fit a particular demographic.
* the music. What can I say other than there was soooo much more they could have done with this. The music in B&T was build around the time period they were in. Metal & rock were cool at the time so the original films can be placed in a time period. This one however... it's almost like they didn't have a clear idea of what they wanted to portray.
* I have to say I like Bill's daughter and how she tried to go full Bill/Keanu. She nailed a lot of his idiosyncratic movements and facial expression. Ted's daughter though could have been played by anyone. So this missed the beat for me. Either make sure the daughters are girl versions of the Dads, give them their own personalities&mannerisms, or even swap them (Ted's daughter behaves like Bill and vice versa). Unfortunately we got half of one of these.
There are more, but other reviewers have covered these points.
Finally, I just want to say that it's sad that the film missed the point of Bill&Ted - it was never about saving the world, or their marriages. They were just 2 sweet dudes, a little clueless, trying to do what they thought was right in their own way. And we like seeing their positivity come through even when times were rough. And because they were always positive things worked out in the end, sometimes with a little help from Rufus.
There was a glimmer of that here, but not enough.