Bill & Ted Face The Music Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs
5. It Avoids Most Pitfalls Of Belated Comedy Sequels
Years-later comedy sequels don't have a particularly strong track record: in recent years fans of Dumb and Dumber and Zoolander have been left especially crestfallen by their totally unremarkable sequels, and so the prospect of a third Bill & Ted inevitably invited some concerns.
But Face the Music largely sidesteps most of the potential issues, because while it's undeniably a little sad to see Bill and Ted as gormless if well-meaning bums in middle age - especially when they've got wives and children - the film's heart is always in the right place.
There is at least an attempt here to show the pair growing as people, and its depiction of their central friendship remains true to the tone and emotion of the first two movies.
Crucially, there also aren't excessive efforts to update the formula with contemporary humour.
Beyond a few cameos from modern musicians, there aren't any appearances which would date the film in any major way, nor an abundance of social media or pop-culture references.
It is a film that knows the benefits of restraint and seems acutely aware of what it should put most of its energy into, thankfully.