Bill & Ted Face the Music

Quickly collapses into something resembling a wobbly charity reunion, which fans may find themselves trying their hardest to enjoy through gritted teeth.

We could all do with a little dose of Bill and Ted's optimism - the simple belief that kindness and camaraderie can bring us all together.

It's totally excellent (cue air guitar) to rediscover a corner of this dulled universe where joy and innocence still shine.

This slapdash movie, with its big-hearted, puppyish positivity, might not save the world but it will surely lift the spirits.

Somehow it works. Remarkably, you may party on.

Not excellent maybe, but by no means bogus either, this cheerful Bill & Ted threequel brings the story of our two laidback heroes up to the melancholy autumn of their middle age.

Bill & Ted Face The Music is likeable and easygoing, a sequel without a hint of cynicism, which should appeal both to anyone venerable enough to remember the original movies and newcomers alike.

I hate emotional manipulation, but it worked, and I felt something at the end of the film as music becomes the unifying force in the face of divisions such as time, country, race and gender.

A few years ago, when this was announced, many complained that we didn’t need another Bill and Ted movie. I am happy to report that they were wrong.

A wanly amiable threequel that, predictably, generates its greatest impact from watching Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter channel 30-year-old personas...