Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey has a title that makes it sound like a NES spin-off game or something - but to have avoided this little-seen sequel on account of its terrible name is to have also avoided a sequel that is probably a lot better than you'd expect it to be. That's to say, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey isn't at all the unnecessary sequel that it appears to be, but a lively, charismatic and surprisingly intelligent follow-up. Seriously: intelligent. There's a reference to an Ingmar Bergman film and everything! Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reprise their roles as the clueless heroes of the first movie, of course, and the results are downright watchable. What should have felt pointless and arbitrary instead feels rendered entirely with love - odd, considering that director Pete Hewitt had nothing to do with the first installment. The plot is ridiculous, but there are tons of great jokes; all said and done, it might even be funnier than the first.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
