| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Bill & Teds Bogus Journey
MGM // PG // December 4, 2001
List Price: $14.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Throughout cinematic history, sequels have rarely reached or surpassed their previous efforts. This has been proven time and time again with weak retreads of the same characters, only costing more money. "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" is a rare instance, a sequel that doesn't meet the original picture's greatness, but still has a few inspired ideas up its sleeve.
This 1991 effort starts off where the 1989 suprise hit left off. Bill and Ted aced their history report and got to be with the princesses that they met when they were back in time. In the future, evil robot Ted and evil Robot Bill are dispatched to take out their past counterparts before they achieve great success. Unfortunately for our heroes, their robot counterparts are successful and Bill and Ted find themselves trying to battle the Grim Reaper (William Sadler) in a game of Battleship, Clue and eventually, Twister. On their journey, they go through Heaven and Hell, trying to find a way to stop their evil counterparts and save the day.
The first picture was a bit more consistently funny; it really carried the premise wonderfully and got terrific performances out of Alex Winter and an early Keanu Reeves. Reeves and Winter are just as fantastic here and the script is terrific, but the middle portion is so funny the ending can't seem but slightly weak in comparison. The sequence where the two go to Hell and are confronted with their own personal nightmares is an impressive bit of production design. Sadler's also quite funny and the scene where the two must face off with him in a battle of the board games is hilarious.
The DVD
VIDEO: While not without some minor imperfections, MGM's 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen edition of "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" looked better than the first film. Sharpness and detail were a bit stronger, as the picture looked consistently more well-defined throughout and suffered from a few less flaws.
Print flaws on the first film were visible a bit more often than I'd like to see from a film that was relatively recent. There are some minor specks visible here (especially on a few primitive effects shots here and there), but they were apparent at a less consistent rate. Nothing further, such as scratches or larger marks, were seen. Edge enhancement was light and I didn't see any pixelation.
Colors were nicely rendered, as well. The deep reds of the middle section looked slightly smeared, but otherwise, colors looked sharp and natural. Black level remained solid, while flesh tones looked accurate. Not terrific, but moderately better looking than the original in terms of image quality.
SOUND: "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey", like the earlier picture, is also presented in newly remixed Dolby Digital 5.1. Unlike the first picture, there's considerably more going on in the surrounds than there was in the original. The rears come to life nicely with various sound effects and occasionally, some of the music. Audio quality was also considerably better than the earlier film - while the sound of that film seemed rather flat across the board, the music sounded fuller and stronger here, while the effects came across with a bit more power.
MENUS:: Fairly basic main menu, with a clip as the entire background.
EXTRAS: Short featurette and the trailer.
Final Thoughts: "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" isn't quite as good as the original, but it's weird, silly and occasionally quite hilarious. MGM's presentation is average, but the price is right for fans.
Throughout cinematic history, sequels have rarely reached or surpassed their previous efforts. This has been proven time and time again with weak retreads of the same characters, only costing more money. "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" is a rare instance, a sequel that doesn't meet the original picture's greatness, but still has a few inspired ideas up its sleeve.
This 1991 effort starts off where the 1989 suprise hit left off. Bill and Ted aced their history report and got to be with the princesses that they met when they were back in time. In the future, evil robot Ted and evil Robot Bill are dispatched to take out their past counterparts before they achieve great success. Unfortunately for our heroes, their robot counterparts are successful and Bill and Ted find themselves trying to battle the Grim Reaper (William Sadler) in a game of Battleship, Clue and eventually, Twister. On their journey, they go through Heaven and Hell, trying to find a way to stop their evil counterparts and save the day.
The DVD
VIDEO: While not without some minor imperfections, MGM's 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen edition of "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" looked better than the first film. Sharpness and detail were a bit stronger, as the picture looked consistently more well-defined throughout and suffered from a few less flaws.
Print flaws on the first film were visible a bit more often than I'd like to see from a film that was relatively recent. There are some minor specks visible here (especially on a few primitive effects shots here and there), but they were apparent at a less consistent rate. Nothing further, such as scratches or larger marks, were seen. Edge enhancement was light and I didn't see any pixelation.
Colors were nicely rendered, as well. The deep reds of the middle section looked slightly smeared, but otherwise, colors looked sharp and natural. Black level remained solid, while flesh tones looked accurate. Not terrific, but moderately better looking than the original in terms of image quality.
SOUND: "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey", like the earlier picture, is also presented in newly remixed Dolby Digital 5.1. Unlike the first picture, there's considerably more going on in the surrounds than there was in the original. The rears come to life nicely with various sound effects and occasionally, some of the music. Audio quality was also considerably better than the earlier film - while the sound of that film seemed rather flat across the board, the music sounded fuller and stronger here, while the effects came across with a bit more power.
MENUS:: Fairly basic main menu, with a clip as the entire background.
EXTRAS: Short featurette and the trailer.
Final Thoughts: "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" isn't quite as good as the original, but it's weird, silly and occasionally quite hilarious. MGM's presentation is average, but the price is right for fans.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||