As The Pony Express’ (self-appointed) head of movies, one of my favorite films is “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” However, another one of my favorite films is the second (most legendary) quest of Bill and Ted titled, “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.”
The plot of this movie follows Bill and Ted (most excellently) played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves respectively, as their lives are stolen by evil robots from the future that look exactly like them. While the plot is silly, it does a great job at being funny, interesting, and at times, most bodacious.
While the first “Bill and Ted” movie serves as a great time capsule of ’80s magic and energy, the sequel didn’t get released until July 19, 1991, after the ’80s had ended. However, this only serves as a great way to set the two apart, with the sequel having a ’90’s sense of grunge.
As the ’90s began, “Bogus Journey” underwent a drastic tone shift that became even more noticeable when compared to the first movies. The stakes of the plot are much more heavy, and the movie goes to darker places while overall being much meaner and less of an adventure than the first movie, while still having a lot of fun and never taking itself too seriously.
One department that this movie deserves a lot of recognition in is its set design. In the first movie, we saw very little of the future world, but this time, we get to see many different places and people. This movie doesn’t go to many places (compared to its predecessor); nonetheless, the places it does go look amazing and incredibly well shot and made.
The humor in this movie lands on nearly every beat. The dialogue is once again filled with fun phrases like “most bodacious” or “most excellent,” making for a lot of laughs. Along their journey, Bill and Ted use these phrases and similar vocabulary while they meet characters who are somehow crazier than the historical figures of the movie's predecessor.
To fit the ’90s aesthetic that this movie has, it has a matching soundtrack, featuring bands like the most godly Megadeth, Primus, and Faith No More.
This movie is an amazing and most bogus journey with a fun ’90s vibe on top of everything. It is a top recommendation to anyone reading. “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” should be watched as soon as possible!
