“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Reviews Call the Sequel a Nostalgic 'Blast' with 'Just Enough Tim Burton Juice'

The sequel to the beloved 1988 comedy opened the Venice Film Film Festival on Aug. 28

The first reactions are in after Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's world premiere.

On Wednesday, Aug. 28, Tim Burton’s highly anticipated sequel to the 1988 comedy-horror Beetlejuice opened the 81st Venice Film Festival, and critics are largely praising it for its solid nostalgia and fan service.

Deadline's Stephanie Bunbury said the movie is "a blast just to watch" and that it works better in some places where the 1988 original proved "pretty clunky."

"Yes, there are plenty of animation joins that haven’t been smoothed over by CGI. Some of the props look like tat Burton bought in a flea market," Bunbury wrote. "But it also has a proper plot, full of twists and turns ... and a climactic musical number in which key cast members mime to Richard Harris’ 1968 pop hit 'Macarthur Park' while dancing around a giant cake with icing the exact green of snot."

Related: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Trailer: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and More Return for Tim Burton Sequel

"These two worlds and the rules that enable characters to move between them remains an all-consuming pleasure," IndieWire's Sophie Monks Kaufman wrote in part in a review, granting it a B+. "Like a strong book-to-film adaptation, a strong sequel keeps the soul of the original while leaning into its own ideas."

IGN's Siddhant Adlakha noted its status as an "obligatory legacy sequel," comparable to recent movies like Top Gun: Maverick. "It's a silly little sequel to an equally silly original, and it's hard to imagine wanting or needing much more from it."

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"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice feels like a film made by a whole bunch of people who adore the original and were eager to keep playing," Collider's Perri Nemiroff wrote in a review of the film shared on X. "That enthusiasm leaps off the screen big time, and it made this hardcore Beetlejuice fan very happy.

While Variety's Owen Glieberman called the new film "a lightweight riff on" the original movie, he wrote that he enjoyed the sequel on its own merits. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is no Beetlejuice, but in the end it’s got just enough Burton juice."

Related: Tim Burton Says Michael Keaton 'Went Right Back' to Beetlejuice Role 'Like He Was Possessed By a Demon'

The sequel follows three generations of the Deetz family coming together after a tragic death as they move back to Winter River, where Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) was last conjured as he is reawakened again.

As well as Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are also reprising their iconic roles, alongside newbies Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is is in theaters Sept. 6.

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