Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

"A hit. You have sunk my battleship."

In the future, the world lives by the music of the band Wyld Stallyns and reveres the words of Bill S. Preston Esq (Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Reeves).  But not everyone is happy with their utopia.  Chuck De Nomolos (Ackland) steals a telephone booth time machine and sends robot versions of Bill and Ted back to 1990s to stop Wyld Stallyns from winning the San Dimas Battle of the Bands.  Bill and Ted's friend/mentor Rufus (Carlin) hitches a ride on the time machine to rescue the duo, but does not reach his destination.

In the 1990s, Bill and Ted are preparing for the Battle of the Bands.  The band now includes their girlfriends, Princess Joanna (Trigger) on drums and Princess Elizabeth (Azcuy) on keys.  They win a slow in the show, and propose to the princesses.  But that evening Bill and Ted are murdered by the evil robot clones.

Bill and Ted are met by Death (Sadler).  They can challenge Death, for the chance to return to their lives.  Can they outwit Death, save the babes, and fulfill their destiny at the Battle of the Bands?

After the success of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure in 1989, the writers (Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon) and cast reunited for this sequel.  Director Stephen Herek did not return for the sequel, so Peter Hewitt served as the director for this film.

They also made two TV shows: the animated Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures from 1990-1991 and a live-action TV show, also called Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures, in 1992.  The characters also appear in several video games.

The Good:

The film is not a rehash of the original film, although their are fun call-backs to the previous film - such as Missy's relationship.  The story feels like a natural progression of Bill and Ted's journey to immortality.  The main characters are back, along with some legendary historical figures (but not the ones from the original film).

Once again, the story doesn't take itself too seriously and again, it works.

The character of Death is hilarious (and says the quote at the beginning of this review).  The game sequence is a standout.  William Sadler fully commits to the character and accent.

The Bad:

Station... I don't understand.

Other Comments:

-The princesses have a larger role in this film and are played by different actresses (Kimberley Kates was Princess Joanna and Diane Franklin was Princess Elizabeth)

-The Battle of Bands performance before Wyld Stallyns is the song "Tommy the Cat" by the band Primus.

-The writers appear in the séance scene.

-Reeves and Winter returned for another sequel, Bill & Ted Face the Music in 2020.  Matheson and Solomon also wrote this sequel.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) 93 minutes
Director: Peter Hewitt
Starring: Keanu Reeves as Ted "Theodore" Logan
Alex Winter as Bill S. Preston
William Sadler as Death
Joss Ackland as Chuck De Nomolos
Pam Grier as Ms. Wardroe
George Carlin as Rufus
Amy Stock-Poynton as Missy
Hal Landon Jr. as Captain Logan
Annette Azcuy as Elizabeth
Sarah Trigger as Joanna