How the new film "Bill and Ted" pleases with a portion of nostalgia and the image of Keanu Reeves

Famous franchise returns are of two types. In the first case, new authors simply take a popular story and try to get the most money out of it. In the second, the creators of the classics get down to business and simply tell from the bottom of their hearts what they did not manage in the distant past.

Unfortunately, the first option is more common. Suffice it to recall the Ghostbusters of 2016 or the fifth and sixth installments of The Terminator. But then there is "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Trainspotting - 2" (aka "T2 Trainspotting") - bright and emotional sequels.

Many fans of "The Incredible Adventures of Bill and Ted", who restrainedly accepted the sequel (it's better to forget about the cartoon and the game series altogether), were most afraid that the third part would be just a soulless way to make money. Moreover, the authors announced in advance that they would add the daughters of the main characters to the plot. It would seem that the film can be buried: Keanu Reeves will probably look for a couple of minutes, and the main load will be shifted to the new female characters.

But you can relax: Bill and Ted is exactly the film that fans of the franchise deserve. The heroes are the same, the jokes are still absurd. And Keanu Reeves is amazing.

The same story in a new way

In the finale of The New Adventures of Bill and Ted, the main characters performed a great rock hit and won worldwide fame (this will be reminded in the first shots). The friends soon married and had daughters - full copies of their fathers, whom they named Thea (Bridgette Lundy-Payne) and Billy (Samara Weaving).

As the years passed, the popularity of Bill and Ted's music fell, they never achieved anything more grandiose. And they didn't even deserve the respect of their relatives. The heroes could just enjoy family life. But they never learned to share their friendship and personal relationships. The salvation from the gray everyday life is the next visit of guests from the future. Bill and Ted must again save humanity, and for this they have to write a great song. And their daughters decide to put together the best group to help their fathers.

The secondary nature of the plot is easy to notice both in the description and in the first 15 minutes of the action.

The authors do not hide this. And it would be hard to imagine that Bill and Ted could do anything other than travel back in time and write songs. And the years have not changed their way of thinking. They try to solve the issue with the greatest hit in the most amusing way, using, of course, a time machine in a telephone booth.

Still from the movie "Bill and Ted", 2020

The only innovation: in the third film, the adventures of girls were added to the main storyline. This makes the action more dynamic and varied. Moreover, the authors have kept the balance. Bill and Ted, played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, remain the main characters and delight with classic antics and endless dude in their appeals. But their storyline is, in fact, built on continuous reflection. It's very funny, but it would be boring to devote the entire timekeeping to their story alone.

This is where Billy and Thea step in. The girls completely copy the behavior of their fathers (although they behave more rationally), so their line does not stand out from the general atmosphere. And they are the ones who are responsible for different historical eras, meeting real celebrities.

In sum, this turns the picture into a kind of set of gags and guest roles. Of course, in terms of a friendly skit, "Jay and Silent Bob: Reboot" looked more witty. Still, Bill and Ted is not a parody of the entire genre, but just a cute classic comedy.

A Few Serious Thoughts

If desired, a couple of important themes can be found in the picture. This is primarily due to the huge time gap between the second and third films. And both for the characters and for the audience.

Bill and Ted are a classic example of heroes who accomplished a feat in their youth and who dream of repeating it all their lives. They cannot do anything else and are very angry if someone refuses to believe in their past merits.

If the actions of the characters in the first films were just amusing, now the actions of the immature fathers of families can cause a little sadness.

And in general, if you saw "The Incredible Adventures of Bill and Ted" in the first years after the release, you will notice how much the appearance of the main characters and the whole world around them has changed. It can be sad. And even when traveling to the past or the future, the characters are not able to stop what is happening in their lives.

At the same time, the film does not go into excessive drama, and even a crisis in relations is presented here in the form of a comedy scene.

Nostalgia and outdated presentation

The main thing you need to know about the picture: it will delight only those who love the previous parts. Nowadays, sequels are often released that can be watched without even knowing the original. A prime example is Mad Max: Fury Road.

The plot of "Bill and Ted" is easy to understand: the introduction briefly tells about past events. But still, without memories of previous films, the continuation will seem too strange: constant meetings of heroes with themselves from other times, killer robots, death playing the bass guitar.

The thing is that the film was made for the sake of nostalgia. And this justifies almost all claims against him. Yes, the special effects look outdated, the actors are overtly overplaying, and the plot twists are ridiculous. But only because in the 80s and 90s just such comedies were filmed.

Keanu Reeves, who is admired by literally everyone, and Alex Winter, who is more interested in directing than acting, returned to their classic roles for a reason. Once upon a time "The Incredible Adventures of Bill and Ted" became for them one of the first popular works.

And throughout the atmosphere, you can feel that longtime screenwriter Ed Solomon wants to pay tribute to the previous parts of the franchise. Connoisseurs of old films will immediately see several reminders of Rufus, played by George Carlin. Alas, the legendary comedian did not live to see the shooting of the picture.

There are dozens of such little things in Bill and Ted. They are difficult to explain to new audiences. But it also makes the story more touching, allowing you to feel the warm attitude of the authors to the original.

Such a deliberate retroatmosphere does not go well with all films. But there was no point in filming Bill and Ted otherwise. More modern ideas and a different presentation would simply kill all the connection with old films. And everyone who will scold the new picture for stupidity and flat jokes should remember that the first part was loved precisely for this.

Therefore, it remains only to be surprised at the self-irony of Reeves and Winter and another unexpected image of Samara Weaving, to look for parallels with the classics and laugh. As if the same phone booth had transferred it to a movie show in the early 90s.