Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice - 4K Blu-ray Review

Movie
I’m usually very leery on sequels that are released decades after the original, but after the fun that was Top Gun: Maverick and the general disarray of Hollywood since the pandemic (though this year has made it seem like we MIGHT be at a turning point) I was curious to see how Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice would turn out. Now mind you, I never thought the original was a GREAT film, but rather just a decent 1980s Tim Burton film (yeah I know, my movie card is supposed to be revoked according to my wife and several other friends, but I was never a super fan of the original), but seeing that Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara AND Winona Ryder was coming back had me even MORE intrigued. Was it worth the wait? Was it better or worse than the original? Especially now that Burton hasn’t put out a truly great movie in Years? Well, it wasn’t as good as the original, but it was a site better than I ever expected it to be.

The film opens up with recently widowed Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) informing her daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) that dear old daddy Charles (Jeffrey Jones, who is only shown in a picture, as well as an animated claymation representation of his death due to the fact that Jeffrey isn’t going anywhere near Hollywood after being convicted of diddling the youngins) has been bitten in half by a shark on his way back from a bird watching expedition. Which comes as a bit of a shock to poor Lydia and her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) who lost her husband recently as well. This necessitates a move back to Winter River, Connecticut, for Charles’s funeral.

While there Astrid gets involved with a local boy, while Lydia is doing her best to stave off the advances of her simperingly self absorbed boyfriend/manager Rory (Justin Theroux), and dealing with the fears and anxiety of coming back home. While Astrid is finally finding a friend in young Jeremy (Arthur Conti) Lydia is SURE that since she’s been back she’s seen glimpses of Beetlejuice in the corner of of her still active psychic vision. Only thing is, she’s not crazy. In fact, she’s spot on. The maniacal demon (Michael Keaton) IS in fact haunting her, and after Rory decides to give her some immersion therapy treatment, Beetlejuice is back baby! However, while he’s still got the same desire to wed Lydia, it turns out that the Deetz family may need his skills to help them. You see, Jeremy is not exactly who he seems, and after taking Astrid to the world of the dead, it’s going to take Beetlejuice himself to get her back. That is, if Lydia can resist his demonic advances, and make sure that he doesn’t ensnare her once more. Cuz we all know how that turned out.

According to the commentary track found on the disc, Burton has had a sequel to Beetlejuice planned out since the first one came out 36 years ago. It just never was given the green light to go until now. So was it worth it? I think it was. I may not LOVE the film, but it was a solid sequel to something that is almost 40 years old, with as much of the original cast returning as age and story would allow. It’s fun, breezy, and goes by with a simple snap. Michael Keaton absolutely eats it up as Beetlejuice once more, slipping back into the character like it’s a comfortable cardigan, and Catherine O’Hara is a national treasure. I’m not so sure about Winona Ryder who seems a little uncomfortable, but newcomer Jenna Ortega is fabulous. She channels a slightly more personable version of Wednesday Addams, which actually works considering both characters have a bent for the gothic macabre.

On the flip side, the movie seems to move a bit TOO quickly, with certain characters and sub plots wrapping up like they were almost a side thought. The inclusion of Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s ex wife who is coming for him was a nice twist, but the entire plot just gets shoved to the side with the most ridiculously quick endings ever. The same goes for Jeremy’s fate. He seems to be this big player that has a major impact to the story, but he’s axed with a simple one liner from Beetlejuice and that’s it. I get that Beetlejuice himself will ALWAYS be the main character/villain, but even for this type of film it was like Burton stuck in a few subplots just for the sake of padding the runtime. They work, but they are wrapped up so quickly that their impact is next to nil.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use.




4K Video: Video:

Not shocking here, but a Tim Burton film that’s put on a 100 gig 4K disc and given a VERY heavy bitrate looks absolutely fantastic. In fact, I would say NEAR flawless. Burton’s typical gothic imagery is rife with deep blacks, rich blues, and offset by brilliantly saturated greenery around all of this. The real world is a bit dim, with blue undertones, and wonderfully saturated in town images to marvel over. Simultaneously, the world of the dead is very heavily shrouded, with deep blues, neon hellish reds, and a grim monochromatic look that is just heavy to look at. Fine details are superb, ranging from the stables on Dolores’s body, to the torn up and greasy look of Beetlejuice’s prison garb that we all know and love. Skin tones are a bit pasty pale (that’s par for the course with most Tim Burton films) and shadows give some incredible depth. There’s a hint of a soft and smooth look during the heavy CGI sequences (mostly during the most monochromatic moments), but other than that, this is a great looking disc.






Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track is every bit as good, following up with a moody and atmospheric track that really just seeps into every pore of the film and elevates the mood. Once again Tim Burton has called in long time collaborator (and scorer of the first film), Danny Elfman, to give us a light hearted and lilting track that just makes all of the macabre happenings all the more palatable to the viewer. Overheads and surrounds are incredibly active with discrete and ambient noises ranging from the score, creaks and groans of the house, to full on explosions as Beetlejuice crashes through a wall. Bass is powerful and punchy, while dialog is crisp and always perfectly blended. What surprised me was just how dynamic the track was, with huge swings in the peaks and valleys of volume leveling, but never feeling like you needed to play with the volume knob in order to keep it from going too high or too low. Simply put, this is a KICKING track and should be fully enjoyed at reference level.






Extras:

• Audio Commentary by director Tim Burton
• The Juice is Loose! The Making of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• The Ghost with the Most: Beetlejuice Returns
• Meet the Deetz
• Handbook for the Recently Deceased
• Shrinkers, Shrinkers Everywhere!
• An Animated Afterlife: The Stop-Motion Art of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• 'Til Death Do Us Park










At the end of the day, this was a fun little romp. Nothing too special, but it IS nice to see Burton making something clever once again. It doesn’t hurt that Michael Keaton is a near god in terms of his ability to slip into old roles (I still get chills at his Batman return in The Flash) so neatly. The 4K UHD disc is solid, with good video and audio, and a decent array of extras. Definitely a fun watch for fans.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Willem DaFoe, Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci
Directed by: Tim Burton
Written by: Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, Alfred Gough
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish, Italian Dolby Atmos, English, French DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Italian SDH, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 104 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 19th, 2024