I have not looked up other reviews, but I cannot have been the first person to use that for the review title. This movie has no right to be this good. It is a sequel to a twenty-nine-year-old movie, itself a bizarre sequel. The first movie saw the Time Traveler Rufus help the duo complete a history project by letting them travel throughout time and meat all these historical figures, all so they can pass the test so they could eventually write a song that would unify the world. Mind you they aren't even musicians, they don't know how to play. Also, they bring back two princesses with them to the modern age to be their girlfriends. The second movie they are killed by robot doubles from the future and they end up going to hell and attempting to escape, only to get out by beating the Grim Reaper in a series of children's games. Now, thirty years later, they still have not written the song that unites the world, and if they don't' all time and space will end.
This entire franchise had no business getting a following, but it did. Those first two movies found just the right mix of bizarre moments and just enough heart behind its messages of unity, and Bill and Ted are just such a fun pair that they managed to stick around in people's hearts. So here we are now, all these years later, and it's like the franchise never missed a step. All the things that made everyone love those first two movies are alive and well here. Furthermore, a lot of the same actors (Sadly George Carlin couldn't play the part of Rufus, :( ) are back, and most notably Keanu and Winter, the ones playing Bill and Ted, are much better actors than they use to be. They keep all the charm of their original portrayals of the characters, and now with some more emotionally impactful moments, they really manage to deliver. I honestly think this makes this movie the best of the three.
Two plots are running through the film, Bill and Ted traveling through time to meet the versions of them in the future who wrote the song, and their daughters traveling into the past assembling a band of the world's greatest musicians throughout History to play the song Bill and Ted will write. All the while Bill and Ted are being attacked by a Robot from the future under the idea that, if Bill and Ted were to die, that may prevent the world from ending. I'm not going to say the twist surprises me, I honestly saw it coming from the beginning of the movie, but this is one of those times that isn't a problem.
This movie has taken a franchise that was largely a silly joke, and through all the goodwill and love the characters built up, with more of a focus being placed on the show shows themes of unity, coming together, and self-acceptance, and made a move that I feel is something much more than the premise would have you believe it could be. I'm not saying you have to have watched the previous films to enjoy this, but you certainly are going to be missing out on a lot. I especially love how much respect the movie shows to Rufus, whose actor in real life passed away. So much more thought and passion went into this project than I was expecting.
All that said, there is no getting around the fact the entire premise of the plot makes no damn sense. You never find out why time is collapsing, you never find out why exactly them playing the song in the manner they do stops the world from ending, and the more you try to make sense of how Time Travel works in the world the less you understand it. What you need to realize, despite all I said before, is this movie is a comedy through and through. All sense is thrown out the window for the sake of the jokes. This isn't something that is going to sit well with everyone, but if you can see yourself being fine with that this won't be a problem for you.
And as a comedy, it's hard to judge if you'd like it or not. You either find it funny or you don't, and if you can' look at the plot synopsis I gave and think it sounds amusing, you're likely to enjoy the wild ride the movie is. For myself, there was not a moment I stopped laughing. Even the moments that are legit touching had so much going on I was laughing through them, though it didn't take away from the emotional impact. This movie will live or die for you purely on whether or not it makes you laugh because if you can't get into the humor you are going to be bombarded nonstop with jokes you don't find funny.
I love this movie, and it has been so long since I've seen a movie that made me this happy. Everything about it makes me happy, and I love that this year has seen so many things I love somehow make a comeback and be good (Rune Factory 4 and Brigandine being the others), specifically things that in a sane a logical world had no hope of ever seeing the light of day again. Thank god we don't live in a sane and logical world.
