Bill &
Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Review by Jude
Felton
Has is really
been over 20 years since Bill S. Preston Esq and Ted “Theodore” Logan first
graced our screens? It has indeed, and when Fox announced, out of the blue,
that they were to release this gem of a movie on to Blu-ray, I was surprised,
albeit happily surprised. Saying that though they do have a habit of releasing
some cool movies through their MGM label, with Killer Klowns from Outer Space
and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 being two recent beauties to hit Blu.
It was way
back in my late teenage years when I first watched Bill & Ted’s Excellent
Adventure, and it just tapped into the Metal head in me. It was just cool and a
lot of fun, and I even had no idea who George Carlin was back then! It was also
the perfect film for a young Keanu Reeves, alongside Alex Winter, playing the
dumb, yet lovable, kid that has pretty much stuck with him throughout his
career.
The Excellent
Adventure of the title comes about because Bill and Ted are dangerously close
to failing history at school. This would be bad enough, but extra threat is
laid on when Ted’s overbearing father promises to send him to military school
in Alaska, should he fail.
Fortune is
shining on Bill and Ted though, as in the future they are figures of the
highest regard, due to their initially terrible band Wild Stalyns. This results
in Rufus (George Carlin) appearing via phone booth and offering to help them
with their project, and thus begins a journey through time visiting historical
figures, and getting their project together.
Due to the
time travelling element of the story the entire picture is not revealed until
the end of the film, at which time all makes complete and perfect sense, even
if you do find your mind scrambled at the logistics of it all if you think
about it for too long! This is a film from a time where movies could just be
great fun; they didn’t need a higher purpose or deeper meaning, and came at us
with no pretensions whatsoever, and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure has
held up remarkably well.
Sure, some of
the effects on display look a little dated and the fashions are a sign of the
times, but the two leads are lovable dudes that you can’t help rooting for. I’ll
never get tired of watching Beethoven rock out on the keyboards in the San
Dimas Mall. Excellent, dude!
The Blu-ray
release itself is nice. It’s not spectacular, although I didn’t expect it to
be, but the visuals and audio are pretty damned good. It is without doubt the
best quality picture I have seen of this film and, aside from the odd moment,
makes the film look totally fresh again. Crank up the volume and the English
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 does rock out of your speakers; a fact that came to
life when my wife commented on how loud it was. Hell yes, baby!
On the special features side of things and it isn’t crammed with them, but there are a fair few. Included on the disc are The Original Bill & Ted: In Conversation with Chris & Ed, an Air Guitar Tutorial with Bjorn Turoque & The Rockness Monster, One Sweet and Sour Chinese Adventure To Go, some Radio Spots and the Theatrical Trailer. All that being said, I recommend picking this up purely on the strength of the film alone; it’s a film everyone should have in their collection, and you can pick it up for less than $10.
Now, if Fox could find it in themselves to release the sequel, Bill
& Ted’s Bogus Journey, that would be most excellent.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is available on Blu-ray now, from 20th Century Fox and MGM.
(The stills used in this review are not representative of the Blu-ray release and are used solely to illustrate this review)
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