The Juice is loose as Michael Keaton reprises his role in Tim Burton‘s long-awaited sequel, we check out Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in IMAX and see what has become of the characters that we first met back in 1998.
Following an unforeseen family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return to their home in Winter River. Lydia (Winona Ryder), still haunted by Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), faces a dramatic shift in her life when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), stumbles upon a mysterious model of the town in the attic, accidentally opening a portal to the Afterlife. With trouble arising in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times, and the mischievous demon returns to wreak havoc in his unique way.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opens with the familiar theme from the amazing Danny Elfman with an updated composition that sets you up to know that this movie is going to be one that has been a long time coming for fellow fans of the 1998 movie, the family have been brought together once again in the house Deetz’s house by the death of Charles Deetz, we are given and wonderful Burton style animation of Charles’ death which looked a tad out of place but due to what happened to actor Jeffrey Jones back in 2002 when he was arrested back in 2002 it’s no wonder that his part was done this way. We get to see the character later in the film, but we don’t see his face and the part isn’t even in the credits!
The movie is a bit of a slow burn before we get to the character we have come to love, but in the meantime, we are introduced to Beetlejuice’s ex-wife played by Monica Bellucci. Now if you remember back to the 1998 film we heard mention of her with the ring on the finger scene with Beetlejuice and Lydia at the wedding.
Delores (Bellucci) is back for revenge and will stop at nothing to get back at her husband for what we did, don’t worry we are given a flashback of what happened in a stylised moment was a bit weird but seemed to work. With Delores back we are introduced to a new character played by Willem Defoe, Wolf Jackson is the underworld cop or should that be an actor that is on the case of finding Delores and getting to the bottom of her soul-sucking exploits.
In the meantime, in the land of the living, the family is having problems of their own, Lydia is not getting on with her daughter and her daughter meets a boy in the town that is not what he seems at first. There are so many plots flying around in the movie that this is where I started to lose a little bit of my enjoyment. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has wonderful moments I loved in the 1998 film, such as the physical effects over digital effects, little moments that connected back and the craziness that Keaton still brings to the role after 34 years.
But I still found that I didn’t enjoy the movie as much as did the original, there just seemed to be something missing and I can’t put my finger on what it was. I’m not saying that the movie is terrible because it isn’t hence my star rating, it’s great to have the cast back on the big screen and bringing the story possibly to a close unless it is followed with a sequel that moves on to the next generation with Jenna Ortega, who knows.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in IMAX looks and sounds great, the movie isn’t shot in IMAX but is enhanced for the IMAX screen as it has been shot in a 1.85:1 ratio so it fills up the screen nicely. The sound from the IMAX system certainly booms and the opening music from Danny Elfman was wonderful to hear on such an amazing system. It did seem to me that we had less Elfman music in the movie though and seemed to go more with upbeat tracks, maybe that’s just me but still, the soundtrack wasn’t too bad. Talking of the music there are a couple of scenes that will surprise you when it comes to music or should that be musicals, I won’t go into too much detail about it all I will say is McArthur Park!
Does Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Have a Post-Credits Scene?
No Beetlejuice Beetlejuice doesn’t have a post-credits scene, before the full credits start to roll it has images of the key cast as characters with their names. So you don’t have to sit through the credits to wait for anything, but you will get a full edition of Danny Elfman’s superb end titles theme which I have to say is well worth listening to.
Another note to add before I bring this review to an end is several scenes are different from the trailer such as the prank on Astrid, but this could be down to the movie in the UK going for a 12A rather than a 15. Another note is that the F-Bomb is dropped once in the film and beeped for a second one.
The Juice Returns in IMAX!
Movie title: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
Movie description: After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.
Date published: September 7, 2024
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 44m
Director(s): Tim Burton
Actor(s): Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara
Genre: Comedy
Summary
It’s great to see the cast back after 34 years later and to see what has become of the characters. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a fun movie but sadly lacks the feels that the 1998 movie gave me. But if you are a fan, then this is a movie you will want to see in IMAX if you can.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
