Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Trilogy (4K UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: August 6, 2024
Rating: PG-13
Film: See Below

Plot
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (3.5/5)
Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) spent so much time forming their rock band, The Wyld Stallyns, that they're flunking history. A guardian angel from the future, Rufus (George Carlin), comes to them with a bodacious solution: a time-traveling phone booth to take them into the past to learn from history's most influential people. Their journey turns out to be a blast…but will they learn enough to pass their class?   

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (3/5)
Bill and Ted have to go to incredible lengths to win an important band contest. It's, like, into Heaven and Hell they go, encountering some look-alike robots and challenging the Grim Reaper to a game of Battleship.

Bill & Ted Face the Music (2/5)
The stakes are higher than ever for the time-traveling exploits of William ‘Bill’ S. Preston Esq. and Theodore ‘Ted’ Logan. Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle-aged best friends set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it. Along the way, they will be helped by their daughters, a new batch of historical figures, and a few music legends — to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe.


My Thoughts
My wife thought I was crazy requesting this set given how much we didn’t like the final film, but after sitting down and watching the first two we thought—maybe the third one isn’t as bad as we remembered? It turns out, it may be worse than we remembered. Regardless, the first two films are a lot like Dumb & Dumber—the movies are so stupid that they end up being hilarious. The first film was released in 1989 and captures all that was bad about the 80s, which in hindsight, makes the film somewhat of a historical retelling of the decade that I grew up in.

The second film doesn’t break any new ground and is where the franchise should have ended things on a somewhat high note (relatively speaking). Unfortunately, the third film, which was made 30 years after the first, shows that the characters haven’t learned from their past mistakes and the paper-thin plot doesn’t help much. Furthermore, the casting choices for their wives are suspect since they are much younger than the original actresses from the previous film. Finally, what’s funny when you’re a teenager is just plain annoying when your middle-age, and neither of the characters grew out of their stupidness over the years.

One area where I’d like to give some positive energy to is the runtime of all three films, which all clock in around 90 minutes—the perfect length for these types of films. They never really wear out their welcome (although the third film comes very close) and they know exactly what they are—mindless entertainment vehicles. On this one measure, they all succeed.

Video 9/10

Audio 8.5/10 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)

Special Features:

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

• Audio Commentaries
• Time Flies When You Are Having Fun
• Theatrical Trailers
• The Original Bill & Ted
• The Hysterical Personages of Bill & Ted

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey

• Audio Commentaries
• Bill & Ted Go to Hell
• Theatrical Trailers
• The Most Triumphant Making Of
• Score
• Air Guitar Tutorial with Bjorn Turoque & The Rockness Monster
• Vintage EPK
• The Linguistic Stylings of Bill & Ted

Bill & Ted Face the Music

• The Official Bill & Ted Face the Music Panel at Comic-con@Home
• Be Excellent to Each Other
• A Most Triumphant Duo
• Social Piece (Excellence)
• Death’s Crib
• Theatrical Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hAL7emClFM&t=3s&ab

Conclusion
These movies aren’t for everyone but I have to admit that the first two were fun to revisit, not so much with the third film. Regardless, Shout! Studios has done an excellent job with the new 4K restorations and the films have never looked better on home video. All I can say is “party on” and “be excellent to each other.” Recommended for fans of the franchise. 



Reference Review System:
 
 JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
 (Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
 Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Screen
 Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
 ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
 ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
 Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
 System Controller: URC MX-990
 M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
 M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
 Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
 Dual Rythmik FV15HP2
 Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
 Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
 PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner