Customer Reviews

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As good as the first Bill and Ted film was and still is ("Excellent Adventure"), this sequel raised the bar. Hilarious at every turn, and it deals with life and death issues at the same time. Throw in Bill Sadler (the great character actor from "Die Hard 2") as the reaper, appearances by Pam Grier and George Carlin, a parody of Ingmar Bergman's "Seventh Seal", and you've got a movie that probably oughta rate 5 stars. Despite the heady subject matter, the most important plot thread is whether the boys will win the "Battle of the Bands" contest. Station! (PS-this and the first film would make an excellent double-feature DVD)

There definitely has to be at least one more of Bill & Ted. Both are approaching 40, and their bank accounts may soon be running a little dry (that's a joke), so surely that's an excuse enough to make another! Please? I'm sure there are more Bill & Ted fans out there, it's just not me! Keanu & Alex have both said they'd work with each other again, and lets face it, Alex isn't exactly up to much recently. He's mainly doing behind the scenes stuff, and apparently has a wife and child, and is looking mighty fine for a guy approaching 40. Keanu is also a fairly small name in the movie business these days, you may have heard of the Matrix trilogy?

The first movie was a success. The second isn't as exciting, although it does have its moments, but it is still a totally bogus movie. All the old characters appear, the princesses, the dads, Missy, and some great new stars, William Sadler playing the Duke of Spook, the Doc of Shock, The Man with No Tan, Death himself, the Grim Reaper. He is terrific in this movie, moreso towards the end, where he comes out with a excellent line: "You might be a king or a little street sweeper, but sooner or later you'll dance with the reaper." You've gotta love that line.

Not since Chasing Amy etc, has a movie come out with great end credits. (If you like the final song, you'll probably watch the credits right to the end, if you don't, you won't!) Here are some examples of what appears in the end credits to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey:

"Be Excellent to Each Other and Party On."
The Full On First Unit
The Stellar Cast
The Non-Heinous Second Unit
The Bodacious Video Effects
The Atypical Creature & Makeup Effects
The Unprecedented Video Photography
The New Age Dudes
Totally Outstanding Guitars Provided By
Camera Operator "Evil" Bill Roe
First Assistant Camera "Good" Bill Clevenger

I hope there will be a third Bill & Ted movie. The best bit of both movies has to be the newspaper/magazine covers towards the end. If you read the headlines, they're pure class! If you haven't seen these movies, you must. They're before Keanu really hit the big time, when all he could do was goofy (and sexy at the same time!), and when Alex really didn't look like he'd hit puberty yet!

While Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was funny, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey is simply hilarious. Of course, the movie is "dumb," but it's a comedy classic in my opinion. This totally triumphant sequel goes all out to entertain, producing a most memorable ending that brings the storyline of both movies together and unifies the past, present, and future of the Bill and Ted universe. Keanu Reeves is, I believe, at his best and most believable as Ted Theodore Logan, while Alex Winter shows off his impeccable comedic timing as Bill S. Preston, Esq. I think the wit is a little sharper in this sequel than it was in the original Bill and Ted film, and its closer associations and sometimes impressively subtle references to popular culture should make the comedy more appealing to a wider audience than that attracted to the original movie.

As the movie opens, the whole world is Bill's and Ted's oyster. They have their own apartment, they are in love with the princess babes they rescued from mediaeval England in the first movie, and the Battle of the Bands is all set to take place the following night. As they already know from Rufus (George Carlin) of the future, their performance at the Battle of the Bands will change the entire world and quickly lead to a blissful future for mankind in which everyone is excellent to each other. In that happy future, Rufus is teaching a class with the aid of such historical figures as Bach, Edison, and the killer guitar player from Faith No More. Then, from out of the blue, the classroom is taken over by gunmen led by Rufus' old crotchety gym teacher Chuck De Nomolos. The man's hatred for Bill and Ted and the way of life they brought into permanent being is so strong that he sends two evil Bill and Ted robots back in time to ruin the lives and future of Wyld Stallyns before they can really even begin. The robots are pretty successful, actually killing the good Bill and Ted. Here begins the truly bogus journey of our heroes, as they face the Grim Reaper himself, get an up close and very personal look at the depths of Hell, and journey to heaven to meet God Himself. It takes more than a well-coordinated Melvin attack on Death to bring them back to life, but they never waver from their determination to come back, save the babes, kill the evil Bill and Ted, and play most triumphantly at the Battle of the Bands.

I love the ending of the movie; it has little shame in its pursuit of utter goofiness, and I admire that type of commitment to inanity for the sake of entertainment. The whole scene takes about fifteen minutes, but the guys put on one heck of a show at the Battle of the Bands. The fun doesn't even stop when the credits begin to roll because we are treated to a number of magazine and newspaper headlines of the future chronicling the many successes of Bill and Ted and the somewhat troubled rock and roll career of Death. I love this most non-heinous, totally excellent movie. If you want comedy, look no further than Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

I really didn't think Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey was gonna be as good as Excellent Adventure, but it was! I rented it at my friend's house, and then I rented it again the next day when I came home, that's how good it was. I think it's worth it just to see the few parts with Good Bill & Ted talking to Evil Bill & Ted... and maybe the part where Evil Bill throws some junk food at himself. I crack up every time. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are both most excellent in this movie, and are also most triumphant as Evil Bill & Ted. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey was MOST unprecedented. I totally recommend it, dude!

How it going, dudes? Bill & Ted, leaders of Wyld Stallyns, from the great 1989 comedy, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, are back in this 1991 sequel! Like their most excellent friend, Rufus, told you, they do get better. But a totally evil dude from the future, De Nomolos, has sent two bad robots back in time to kill Bill & Ted, so he can rule the world, which will make it a terrible place. Bogus! They do, and in order to come back to life and save the world, Bill & Ted must beat the Grim Reaper in a game. Can they do it?
This film has both Keanu Reeves (Ted) and Alex Winter (Bill) returning, and George Carlin returning as Rufus to help them out again! This movie is not as good as the first one, but it is still a MOST triumphant film!! You gotta see it, too!! So, again, "Be excellent to each other", and "Party on, Dudes!"

Time travel's most unlikely heroes are at it again. This time the romp isn't as fun as their first movie. You would think with the same writing team from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure some of the old magic would still be there. Alas it wasn't. It's not that Bogus Journey wasn't funny or enjoyable enough to watch, but at the same time it's not in the same league as its predecessor on many levels.

First off the future setting was off from before. The futuristic costumes in this movie took a massive turn for the worse compared to the last one (can you say day-glow foam suits?). Sets weren't as bad, but you can notice a change. The villain also seemed out of place in this film, but I guess he keeps the plot moving. Granted the evil Bill and Ted robots and their blatant badness were amusing... to a point. Then it gets tired and repetitive. The chemistry between Bill and Ted themselves didn't seem as strong as the first movie either. Maybe it's just the script that's making it seem strained

Instead of traveling through time they are going through Heaven, Hell, Purgatory (sorta) and plain old San Dimas. A few cameos from those historical characters in the last movie, Socrates or Abe Lincoln, would have fit perfectly in the story. But that never happens. That interaction with a couple of teens from the valley and historical icons is what made the first movie so great. You don't get the same kind of interaction this time around. The only exception, and a good one I might add, is their relationship with the Grim Reaper. William Sadler literally steals the show with a fantastically funny performance through and through.

I might as well hit my biggest gripe, which happens at the end of the movie. Essentially all that talk from the last movie about, "no matter what you do your current clock is always ticking" was pretty much thrown out the window in place of a quick fix. Also they wasted some good talent with George Carlin, who does pretty much nothing in the movie but fulfill an immensely stupid plot twist... thus again the writers take an easy way out of the plot.

I know I have been slamming this movie hard, but I will admit it's still fun to watch once you get past the crap. The scenes with the Grim Reaper are alone worth seeing the movie. I guess all this stuff I said is to just warn you not to expect too much from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. It's good for a few laughs, but don't expect greatness... or very goodness at that.

A sequel to a film as unique as BILL & TED bred skepticism at the time, I'm sure, but little did the world know what was going to be in store for our two dim-bulbs this time. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter return as Ted "Theodore" Logan and Bill S. Preston, Esq., respectively, now 5 years older but not a second wiser. They're about to perform at the Battle of the Bands, their bodacious babes from medieval England (Iowa) have agreed to marry them, and their legacies are still in order. Life would seem perfect for our rock heroes, that is if it weren't for the maniacal De Nomolos (Joss Ackland), who has created two evil robot versions of Bill and Ted to go back in time and kill their human selves (and subsequently ruin their lineage). This leads our guys to the afterlife, Hell, Heaven, and back to Earth, having faced their own personal Hells, recited EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN to the Man Upstairs, and gaining the Grim Reaper (William Sadler, in a scene-stealing role) as a slave by beating him in a contest. Now they have to build good robot versions of themselves (with the help of an alien called Station... yeah), save the babes, and ensure their place in rock and future history.
Not as good as the original, to be sure, but it is most definitely non-non-non-non-NON heinous.

If you liked the first you'll love this one!

as always, amazon has come through. great job! you have a return customer here. thank you again.....kathy javens

The movie was in good condition and my daughter loved it. I think she watched it three times in two days