Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I wanted to like this more than I did. I wasn’t bad, but — and here’s a big surprise for a sequel appearing thirty years on — it wasn’t nearly as good as the original, either.
The good: The story is fairly self-contained and is explained as it goes along, so you could, in theory, watch this one cold without knowing the original and not be totally lost (however, lots of settings, situations, and gags are callbacks, so it would be pretty obvious that you’d be missing jokes or setup). The use of lots of practical effects kept the look very much in line with the original. Each of the cast, individually, did perfectly acceptable work, and I do enjoy watching Keaton chew the scenery.
The bad: It’s jumbled and unfocused, with too many underdeveloped antagonists, none of whom really get terribly satisfying resolutions.
In the end, I was entertained enough in the moment, but would have gotten much more bang for my buck if I’d waited for video rather than seeing it in the theater, and likely won’t be adding this one to my physical media collection.