PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Raymond Sierra
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Darin
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
Leofwine_draca
I'm not really a fan of slacker movies and I absolutely despise the two WAYNE'S WORLD movies that came later, but something about the two BILL & TED movies is inherently likable. It may be the dumb characters, so relentlessly dumb but chirpy with it that they're impossible to dislike. Or it may be the fact that the humour, although dumb, is never mean-spirited or unpleasant; there's something delightfully old-fashioned about it which harks back to the slapstick comedy of years gone by.BOGUS JOURNEY is a slightly inferior film when compared to EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, which was fresher and more funny with all of the historical figures. The central joke about the dumbness of the characters is beginning to wear a bit thin, although Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves certainly do their best and bring plenty of energy to the material. At some points BOGUS JOURNEY feels like a near plot less adventure, taking the characters through various points in the afterlife. The varied special effects are dated but fun, and the set design is excellent. I love wacky stuff so a lot of this film appealed.The best thing in the film is William Sadler, playing the Grim Reaper in a delightful homage to THE SEVENTH SEAL. Sadler, one of cinema's most underrated stars, is excellent when given the chance to do something other than play the stock villain in an action movie - although he's very good at doing that too, as anyone who has seen DIE HARD 2 will be sure to admit. I loved him to bits here and his deadpan, naive humour is great stuff. The challenge scene is a highlight, inevitably, but Sadler remains strong throughout. The music-infused climax is well-handled too, and those homemade robot clones are brilliantly designed.
John Brooks
First off - no I'm not a fanboy. I did watch this as a kid, but like many things seen at a young age I rediscovered this much later only to find there's really a legitimate quality to this film.Where the first one was very shallow and thin in content, this actually fills the runtime with a genuinely funny brand of humor, well in spirit of the Bill and Ted concept but not merely generic at that like the first did a lot of, and rather than just generous snort we're given proper chances to laugh it out loud. It's not just stupid, it's well-made stupid. Big difference.The story and execution are really quite a laudable quality of this movie and the film-makers really went through a lot, this isn't your average half-farted comedy sequel. At all. The scene in Hell, the personal nightmares, the earlier scenes with Death... the cinematography is actually enjoyable, not cheesy, and relevant/effective in the scope of creating a visually striking film, one than carves into the mind long term, and one that contributes directly to the overall cinematic ensemble. The pieces really fit, and the various different scenes/concepts feed right into the storyline. It's really a well made comedy.As with all strong efforts that fall short of that next step, it's a shame they didn't take this and say "well, let's make it into a full-on comedy masterpiece", as it really sincerely isn't that far from it. There's a bit of a lingering effect towards the last act, and the ending is cheesy as to be expected. If they could've filled it up with a couple more really good scenes/jokes, do up that final act a bit more and finish on something of a more memorable ending...8/10. 90's comedy (cult) classic.
BA_Harrison
Bogus Journey opens in the year 2619, where Bill & Ted's music and philosophy has shaped society and everyone wears awful clothes made from sheets of foam. Clearly upset at being forced to dress in such a ridiculous fashion, evil fiend De Nomolos (Joss Ackland) creates robot doubles of the Bill and Ted and sends them back in time to kill the originals, which they do by chucking them off the Vasquez Rocks.Death, however, is only the beginning of the righteous dudes' bogus journey, which sees them travelling to hell and heaven, before returning to life to do battle with their metal doppelgängers and De Nomolos.With the news that there might be a third Bill & Ted movie just around the corner, I thought that now would be a good time to revisit Bogus Journey, which I remember not being very impressed with when it originally came out
Almost a quarter of a century later and my opinion hasn't changed: while not totally heinous, this sequel is is far from the excellent adventure that was the first movie. In an effort to go one better than before, Bogus Journey packs in as much craziness as possible, including robots, aliens, the Grim Reaper, visions of Heaven and Hell, and the Easter Bunny, but in doing so the film it loses what made the first film so great: heart. And Diane Franklin.The best thing about the whole film is Death, played by William Sadler, who provides the film with all of its funniest moments, including a neat homage to Ingmar Bergman's iconic art-house classic The Seventh Seal. But a creepy bald guy in a robe with a scythe playing Battleships and Twister simply ain't enough to carry an entire movie.5 out of 10, which I considered pushing up to 6 for Pam Grier and Kiss's cover of God Gave Rock And Roll To You, but
no Diane Franklin. Bogus!
FlashCallahan
The world of our distant future is a utopian one, thanks to the lyrics of two 20th Century rock and rollers, Bill and Ted.However, a villainous Joss Ackland threatens to throw history off-track by sending evil robot Bill and Teds back to kill their good counterparts.Finding themselves dead, the boys must outwit the Grim Reaper and traverse Heaven and Hell to return to the land of the living, rescue their girlfriends and win at the all-important Battle of the Bands.....Less of a film and more of a group of sketches melded together to make something quite bizarre, Bogus Journey works because of the two leads easy going style, and Sadler's wonderful camp portrayal of the Grim Reaper.For a film that is so out there, in a narrative respect, the imagery and the camera-work is truly genius.From the moment we first meet Death, it does have a lingering feeling of Bergman to it, and the make up is beautiful too at this point of the film.The depictions of Heaven and Hell are brilliant too, and the film is at it's funniest when we meet Einstein and a game of charades.It loses it's way come the end, and becomes a little too self aware, but it's still a fun throwaway movie, that can be enjoyed from time to time.But it's still the best film ever made featuring someone who is inexplicably satisfied by having a Melvin.