Plot
A tyrant from the future creates evil android doubles of Bill and Ted and sends them back to eliminate the originals.
Release Year: 1991
Rating: 5.9/10 (26,256 voted)
Critic's Score: 60/100
Director:
Peter Hewitt
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, William Sadler
Storyline The world of our distant future is a veritable utopia, thanks to the lyrics of two simple-minded 20th Century rock and rollers, Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan. However, a would-be conquerer threatens to throw history off-track by sending "most non-non-heinous" 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 "babes" and have a "most triumphant" concert at the all-important Battle of the Bands.
Writers: Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon
Cast: Keanu Reeves
-
Ted
Alex Winter
-
Bill
/
Granny Preston
William Sadler
-
Grim Reaper
Joss Ackland
-
De Nomolos
Pam Grier
-
Ms. Wardroe
George Carlin
-
Rufus
Amy Stock-Poynton
-
Missy
Jim Martin
-
Sir James Martin
Hal Landon Jr.
-
Captain Logan
Annette Azcuy
-
Elizabeth
Sarah Trigger
-
Joanna
Chelcie Ross
-
Colonel Oats
Taj Mahal
-
Gatekeeper
Robert Noble
-
Bach
Hal Landon Sr.
-
Thomas Edison
Trivia:
The guitar solo before Kiss' "God Gave Rock And Roll To You", is performed by guitar legend Steve Vai The footage had already been shot and the world premiere was a week away, when he was asked to do it. He also contributed various music in the film, including "The Reaper Rap", which features on the end credits.
Goofs:
Continuity:
At the Battle of the Bands, scorch marks suddenly appear on the evil robot heads shortly before Bill and Ted throw them away. This is from a deleted scene where DeNomolos fires at the boys; but they use the heads to block the shots.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Chuck De Nomolos:
It is time. They have reached the second crucial turning point in their destiny. Their message is about to reach millions. But, we will change all that. When our mission is successful, no longer will the world be dominated by the legacy of these two fools! No longer will we hear this.
[plays air guitar]
Chuck De Nomolos:
We will stop them now! Brothers and sisters, are we ready?
[everybody cocks their guns]
User Review
Very underrated, and probably released in the wrong year
Rating: 10/10
This movie is very underrated. It's highly imaginative, creative and
clever. It's just plain fun and in my opinion this film tops the first one.
But the film was forgotten when it first came out, and became even more
overlooked as the years passed. "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" also bombed at
the box office, whereas the first one was a pretty good hit and very
popular.
I think the problem may be that this film was just released a couple years
too late. In 1991, Bill and Ted already seemed "so '80s". Even though the
'80s were only a couple years ago back at that time, the landscape of the
music and style for kids had changed so radically with gangsta rap, hip hop,
Pearl Jam, Nirvana, grunge and the Seattle sound. Bill and Ted with their
Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen and Guns N' Roses music along with their '80s style
seemed so out of place and very outdated in '91, and I think that's one BIG
reason the film bombed at the box office. Nobody but surfers were still
saying stuff like "excellent!" and "bogus!" in 1991. "Gremlins 2" which also
came out in the early '90s suffered a similar fate of being a good film that
bombed at the box office because it was too associated with the '80s. The
transition from the '80s to the '90s was a much faster change then now with
the '90s and '00s. 1991 was nothing like 1988 or 1989, whereas right now,
2002 and last year 2001 still looks/looked like 1995 or 1996.
If only "Excellent Adventure" which was made in 1988, was released THAT YEAR
instead of 1989, and "Bogus Journey" was made quickly and released in 1989,
then it too would have probably been just as wildly received as the
first.
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