Doing a sequel to a beloved movie thirty years after the release of the original is risky. You end up either trying to just straight up copy the original film, and feel cheap doing so. Or you go with something off the wall, and risk alienating the fans of the original. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice goes with the safe route that most legacy sequels have gone with. Lydia Deetz, the character we all know and love? She has a daughter! And her daughter hates her! Like, really hates her.

There’s more to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice than that, but the film really ends up suffering because it follows the original’s path on some things, and doesn’t swing big enough in other ways. If you think of the character of Beetlejuice from the original film like the shark from Jaws or the Xenomorph from Alien, he doesn’t have that much screen time compared to everyone else. That’s what made the character special. Here, Tim Burton and writers Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith have to juggle not only the returning characters, but new characters like Wolf Jackson and Dolores.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, and Arthur Conti. The film sees a return from Lydia and Delia Deetz, alongside new characters in Astrid Deetz (Ortega) and Rory (Theroux). Rory is Lydia’s manager and heads back home with her after her father’s untimely passing. Along the way, Lydia sees Beetlejuice wherever she goes. In the spirit world, Beetlejuice is hunted by Dolores, a former lover, who also happens to suck souls for a living. When Astrid gets caught up with the spirit world trying to find her deceased father, Lydia has to go to Beetlejuice for help. This leads Wolf Jackson (Dafoe) and the spirit police after Beetlejuice.

Oh, and also, Delia Deetz is trying, desperately to find her husband in the spirit world, from the real world. And Astrid has a new boy in town that she has a date with. There’s a lot going on in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice that’s a bit hard to follow. The film jumps from character to character and there’s little rhyme or reason as to why. The plots eventually somewhat connect, but it certainly feels like characters are only here for plot reasons, and to provide a block for the main characters. Dolores feels exceptionally wasted, because she’s quite fearsome. She sucks your soul out, and your body shrivels up and you’re done, no spirit world.

Then there’s the other issue with the film. The new starlet, Astrid, is about as unlikeable as they come. Her character feels like two grown men wrote a teenage girl character. Only until the absolutely last moments of the film, does she feel like anything other than a moody, sullen, teenager. That explains the journey that she went through, but she’s exceptionally mean to her mom throughout the film, to a surprising degree.

Is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice that bad? No, it’s not. When Catherine O’Hara and Michael Keaton work their magic on screen, the entire film is up. Beetlejuice is the main event for the comedy and action here, but O’Hara is the MVP for the laughs. Her comic delivery and timing are impeccable, and her disdain for Rory, and even the small amount we get both Keaton and her on-screen, is golden. Justin Theroux is also strong as the clingy, Rory, who eventually gets found out as what he really is later in the film. Ortega isn’t bad, necessarily, but her material is one-dimensional.

The scenery and sets are really where Beetlejuice Beetlejuice shines though. You have the original sets from the first movie around, but add in even more of the spirit world. It’s a beautiful section of the film with so much imagination packed in, and plenty of amazing physical sets.

With some of the issues and legacy sequel-itis, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice remains incredibly fun to watch. If you can get through Astrid Deetz being a bit unlikeable and the movie being a bit of a mess, there’s still plenty to like here. Keaton is still at the top of his comic game, providing many of the film’s best moments. The imagination of the spirit world is on full display, and fans of the original will eat this one up. Just check your expectations a bit, and there’s plenty in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice for moviegoers to eat up.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases in theaters on September 6th, 2024.

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