Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a pretty fun romp. I can't say it's quite a return to form…there are times when Burton's filmmaking doesn't feel quite as engaged as the first one, like he's not able to play with height or perspective as much…but it does still have a great amount of fun. Jenna Ortega is very welcome as Astrid, Lydia Deetz's estranged daughter (played by Winona Ryder). (Catherine O'Hara) has a lot of fun onscreen and even threatens to steal the spotlight. Most notably absent and yet, still a fulfilling character, is Charles Deetz, but not played by Jeffrey Jones (for reasons best unsaid). Michael Keaton does his best (and he is still great) with this performance, but I do wonder what things might have been like if this had come out just a few years earlier.
The plot is intricately designed. Though the first act is a little slow, when things kick up, they come together very well. Monica Belucci's character adds some fun menace to the film, and is a wonderful bit of complexity to the current plot and Beetlejuice's backstory. As well, seeing the boundary between the afterlife and the living being played with is a lot of fun -- I wish that we could have had more of that. It felt a bit like Jumanji if it was, instead, Burton's insane imagination.
Other than that, I thought Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was still a lot of fun, and also a nice way to revisit some of his other works as well. I think there's also ample oppourtunity for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to come back in some way as an adult cartoon, like in the shape of Hazbin Hotel or something (which might explain all the musical numbers. Also, if Hollywood has to keep using needle drops, using them as creatively as Burton in this one would be very welcome.)