Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) – Film Review

Director: Peter Hewitt
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, William Sadler
Certificate: PG

By Sarah Morgan

The No 1 rule in Hollywood these days appears to be, if you have a major hit, make sure you get a sequel into production as soon as possible.

The rate that the Marvel films are made, each trying to outdo the other, has a lot to do with that, but it’s not a new idea – Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey was greenlit just months after it became clear its predecessor, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, was going to be a huge smash.

Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves return as the titular best friends, whose music has helped create a utopian future full of peace, love and DayGlo outfits. Unfortunately, evil PE teacher-turned-terrorist Chuck De Nomolos hates Bill and Ted; he’s built lookalike evil robots that are then sent back in time to the early 1990s to kill the duo so that they can no longer impart their positivity on the world.

“Team up”

It appears that he’s going to be successful too – Bill and Ted are killed, but team up with the Grim Reaper to return to Earth and launch a fightback.

Obviously, this being a sequel, the central characters are already well-developed and there’s little to surprise viewers from that point of view. However, William Sadler is brilliant as the man with the scythe in an obvious (and perhaps surprising – it’s hard to imagine teenage viewers getting the reference) nod to Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal.

In that film, the Grim Reaper plays chess with Max Von Sydow’s knight; here, in one of the film’s best scenes, Bill and Ted hope to win back their lives by taking him on at Battleships, Twister and other more modern games.

“Formidable figure”

George Carlin and Amy Stoch Poynton are also among those reprising their roles from the first film, while Pam Grier has an eye-catching role as Ms Wardroe, the formidable figure in charge of a battle of the bands contest. Joss Ackland also pops up as Chuck, just one in a seemingly never-ending run of villainous characters played by the venerable British actor.

Although the basic premise is intriguing, the gags don’t come as thick and fast as in the original. Perhaps the fact that we’re already familiar with the characters, the surprise factor is somewhat missing – taking a break for 29 years before the third film in the franchise, Bill & Ted Face the Music, may have bucked the trend for sequels, but it was a wise move to give them a rest.

Among the special features highlights is a lengthy but informative making-of documentary as well as an air guitar tutorial for those keen to play along with the boys’ Wyld Stallyns band – party on, dudes.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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