Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Trilogy - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Objectively, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a highly irresponsible, fallacious, and pretty much downright dumb movie. By all accounts, the plot of two headbanging dimwits with a limited vocabulary — a strange amalgamation of Valleyspeak, surfer and stoner — should not be this much fun, but shockingly, it is a "most triumphant" piece of entertainment. It is most definitely to the credit of Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters for turning the titular characters into a likable pair we don't mind spending time with, playing off one another like complementary halves of the same personality. Threatened with the totally bogus possibility of flunking high school, the Wyld Stallyns are joined by the scene-stealing George Carlin falling from the sky to the Circle K parking lot in a phone booth. This is when the totally bonkers silliness is subverted for a cleverly deceptive commentary on the importance of a good education.

After Carlin recklessly hands over the keys of a time machine to the lovable dolts, Bill & Ted essentially kidnap major historical figures like Socrates (Tony Steedman), Napoleon (Terry Camilleri), Abraham Lincoln (Robert V. Barron) and Joan of Arc (Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Gos) in order to cheat on their final history exam. The script by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon (Men in Black) isn't concerned with the ramifications of interacting with historical figures. When you're having this much fun, who cares about real-life logic — the butterfly effect, alternate timelines and parallel realities be damned! This suburban fairytale is ultimately about showing that even a pair of clueless slackers can make a significant contribution to history. Enjoyed today as a cult comedy classic, the 1989 movie is a most righteous adventure through history encouraging everyone to be excellent to each other and to party on. (Movie Rating: 4/5)

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

While not nearly the "most excellent" adventure as its predecessor, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey nonetheless packs loads of fun and laughs into the now-iconic vintage phone booth. Franchise creators Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon return with a new story that pits our pair of lovable dimwitted heroes (Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters reprising their roles) in a literal life-and-death game against none other than Death himself (a very memorable William Sadler). Taking unabashed inspiration from Ingmar Bergman's immortal classic The Seventh Seal, some of the movie's more amusing moments are the gullible dolts battling the scythe-wielding Grim Reaper at Battleship and Twister and later, ironically, dressing the Dark Angel as Little Bo-Peep when asking for God's help. Personally, I also enjoyed the cameo appearances of Pam Grier, Faith No More's Jim Martin, Primus, evil Easter Bunny and Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers and Bruno "Pop N Taco" Falcon of Breakin' fame.

However, the whole Chuck De Nomolos (a rather bland and squandered Joss Ackland) subplot is as much an ineffectual component to the story as he is contrived. Granted, the 27th-century sit-up champion turned wannabe fascist dictator introduces the plot's true antagonists: evil robot versions of our titular heroes. But outside of that, the character serves little purpose, setting events into motion at the beginning and reappearing only to bookend the story, wrapping up everything a bit too conveniently. In fact, the eye-rolling conclusion falls somewhat flat and feels undeservedly schmaltzy. But perhaps the biggest travesty in an otherwise decently entertaining follow-up is seeing George Carlin dressed in that hellacious and totally horrendous outfit with the oversized foam shoulder pads and the huge platform boots. The one image seared into memory is the nightmarish fashion of humanity's future. (Movie Rating: 3/5)

Bill & Ted Face the Music

Picking up thirty years after a most triumphant adventure through history, time and the afterlife, Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) now brave an even more bodacious journey in Bill & Ted Face the Music: suburbia, parenthood and an unexpected midlife crisis. Decades and several music albums later, the two are still joined at the hip and do everything together, including couples therapy with princesses Joanna (Jayma Mays) and Elizabeth (Erinn Hayes). They even named their daughters after one another: Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving), both of whom obviously take after their fathers. Sadly, not everything is stellar in slacker paradise after the Wyld Stallyns failed to produce the music that would unite the world into a resplendent utopia. Nevertheless, they live without regrets until the sudden realization their universe is on the brink of collapse.

From Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot, the third and possibly final installment to the sci-fi buddy comedy series opens with a rocky start, feeling rushed and somewhat disjointed with several jokes barely registering a giggle. Nevertheless, Parisot manages to keep things entertaining and moving forward at an upbeat pace while Winter and Reeves immediately charm audiences with their winningly familiar optimism and idealistic outlook. The script by franchise creators Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon also steers clear of any cynical and pessimistic pitfalls with a surprisingly thoughtful plot that smoothly navigates through the laughs and silliness to finally land with genuine sincerity on the simple theme of it never being too late. In a brilliant stroke of genius, the real dilemma standing in their way is their future selves, bitter and angry with remorse while a startling sense of self-awareness feels genuinely amusing and witty. It all comes together in the most triumphantly satisfying way that reminds us to be excellent to each other. (Movie Rating: 3.5/5)

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Celebrating the franchise's 35th anniversary, Shout! Factory brings the cult sci-fi comedy series to 4K Ultra HD as a six-disc collector's set dubbed Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Trilogy. Housed inside three separate black, eco-elite keepcases, three Region Free, triple-layered UHD100 discs are joined by three Region A locked, BD50 copies of each film, and they are packaged in a cardboard, side-sliding slipcover with new artwork. At startup, each disc goes to a generic menu selection along the bottom with music playing in the background and a static photo.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

[The beloved cult comedy classic] crashes into home theaters with a most excellent and totally righteous HEVC H.265 encode. It's not a huge leap forward or offering the sort of night and day difference compared to previous releases, but this native 4K transfer is nonetheless a welcomed upgrade over its Blu-ray peers. 

Overall definition and clarity are very sharp and distinct where we can plainly make out the fabric, threading and tiny fuzzballs in the various costumes. Of course, considering its age and condition of the source, the video has its share of soft moments here and there, and they are the same scenes as those in the BD releases, implying they are inherent to original elements. Nevertheless, for a 30-plus-year-old movie, the comedy and the special effects have aged extraordinarily well, and facial complexions are remarkably revealing in the many close-ups. Awash with a very fine layer of natural grain, the 2.35:1 image has an awesome film-like quality that fans will absolutely love.

Likewise, contrast and brightness are not a leaps and bounds improvement, but whites are a bit more lustrous and vivid throughout while black levels are slightly richer and truer. Shadow details, on the other hand, offer an appreciable uptick, exposing more background information and providing the picture with considerable depth. Similarly, specular highlights enjoy a small boost, supplying the visuals FX and action with a crisper and narrower brilliance along the edge of clouds in the sky and dazzling electrical show around the vintage phone booth. 

The most attractive feature in this [Dolby Vision HDR] presentation is the wider color gamut, displaying a better and more varied selection in the primaries. Reds are deeper and more animated while blues are more spirited and dynamic, and greens are livelier and more upbeat. Better still, a sumptuous and diverse array of secondary hues enliven the journey with lots of royal purples and violets, sunny marigold yellows, vivacious teals and eye-popping tiger oranges. Facial complexions benefit from this improvement, showing an accurate peachy rosiness in the cast while revealing pores, wrinkles and negligible blemishes, making this a most excellent and colorful adventure through time. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 84/100)

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

Our dopey, hebetudinous heroes battle Death in the Ultra HD arena with a most excellent upgrade over its Blu-ray competitor, thanks to a brand-new remaster of the original 35mm camera negatives. 

Although largely falling on the softer sides of things with visual effects that have not aged well, the HEVC H.265 encode nonetheless offers a welcomed step up, showing stronger, sharper definition throughout sprinkled with a few misses here and there. Still, we can better make out the background information, some of the smaller details in the costumes and the lifelike, revealing textures in the faces of the cast. The new scan also displays an improved contrast and brightness balance, boasting brighter, more dynamic whites and crisper, striking specular highlights with better resolution in the hottest spots. Inkier midnight blacks provide the 1.85:1 image with appreciable depth, an attractive cinematic appeal and better visibility within the darkest shadows. Most triumphant of all is a fuller, richly rendered color palette, parading about with flamboyant reds, energetic blues, buttery yellows, fiery oranges and a lively array of earth tones. Awash in a more refined thin layer of natural grain, the native 4K transfer is a most excellent upgrade. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 80/100)

Bill & Ted Face the Music

The third adventure through space and time lands on Ultra HD with a most excellent and totally bodacious HEVC H.265 encode although it's not a significant night-and-day difference over the previous Blu-ray release. Coming directly from a digital source, the native 4K transfer arrives with a welcomed uptick in overall definition, showing slightly sharper, cleaner details in the clothing, various props and around various buildings. A more notable improvement is a contrast and brightness balance supplying intensely radiant whites and inkier black levels with better gradational differences and visibility within the darkest shadows. Specular highlights are also tighter and more luminous without washing out the finer details, giving the movie a brighter, more energetic pop. However, the bigger and more noteworthy upgrade is thanks to the Dolby Vision HDR yielding a richer, fuller color palette, from the animated reds and dynamic blues to the lively, sumptuous secondary hues. With healthy, highly-revealing facial complexions in the cast, the 2.39:1 image overall feels more energetic and upbeat on 4K UHD. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 90/100)

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

The Wyld Stallyns rock out with a most triumphant pair of DTS-HD MA soundtracks: the original 2.0 stereo track and a 5.1 surround sound alternative. Granted, neither option is the type to push your system to the edge or test its capabilities, but then again, it was never meant to in the first place. Basically, there's not really a whole lot going on in the rear speakers, if anything at all, since the audio has always been more of a stereo track, so you can't go wrong with either choice.

Remaining faithful to the film's original design, this is a very front-heavy presentation with excellent channel separation and balance. Imaging feels very broad and welcoming with convincing off-screen effects and directionality. Music spreads evenly across the entire soundstage with clean acoustics and fidelity. Dynamic range is precise and smooth with plenty of intelligible detail and clarity, providing the movie with an appreciable sense of space and presence. The low-end is not all that aggressive, which is none too surprising, but it's appropriate to the action and accurately responsive. Dialogue is crisp and distinct in the center, making this lossless mix a most excellent presentation of a fun movie. (Audio Rating: 84/100)

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

The same pair of DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks have traveled from the past for this 4K release, and my thoughts have not changed much with the 5.1 remix, which is the default, frankly being inferior to the 2.0 stereo mix. Sound effects in the former seem to come in at a higher decibel level than the vocals, occasionally overpowering some of the dialogue. The mid-range isn't particularly extensive or has much of a high-end, unfortunately pushing the louder segments beyond their limits and sounding noticeably bright while the low-end largely feels exaggerated. Needless to say, the stereo offering is the clear winner and closer to the original sound design, exhibiting massively better clarity and distinction in the upper ranges. Overall, imaging feels broader and more engaging with great warmth and acoustical fidelity, and the background activity and music spread across the entire soundstage more efficiently and convincingly. The vocals are precise and very well-prioritized, never drowned out by the heavy rock songs while the bass provides a welcomed weightiness and presence. (Audio Rating: 78/100)

Bill & Ted Face the Music

The lovable doofuses crash into home theaters with the same most outstanding and highly entertaining DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, sure to make those who rock scream for an encore. Although much of the attention is placed on the jokes and dialogue, the screen is actually vibrant and full of life as a variety of background activity smoothly bounces between the three front channels. Imaging continuously feels broad and spacious with distinct separation in the mid-range, displaying exceptional clarity and acoustical detailing even during the loudest rocking segments. A surprisingly powerful and robust low-end nicely complements the visuals with room-energizing oomph and some hard-hitting weight while the vocals remain crystal clear and precise amid the chaos and toe-tapping music. Also surprising are the various atmospheric effects flawlessly panning between the fronts and surrounds, like a flying vehicle gliding through the air, demons soaring across Hell or the music reverberating all around the listening area. Such moments are satisfyingly immersive and make this second sequel a truly triumphant listening experience at home. (Audio Rating: 90/100)

For this most excellent UHD edition, Shout! Factory has culled together most of the special features from previous home video releases and spread them across the various discs. 

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

UHD Disc

• Audio Commentaries 
• Time Flies When You Are Having Fun! (HD, 61 min)
• Trailer (HD)

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentaries 
• Time Flies When You Are Having Fun! (HD, 61 min)
• The Original Bill & Ted: In Conversation with Chris & Ed (1080i/60, 20 min)
• The Hysterical Personages of Bill & Ted (1080i/60, 15 min)
• Trailer (HD)

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

UHD Disc

• Audio Commentaries 
• Bill & Ted Go To Hell (HD, 52 min)

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentaries 
• Bill & Ted Go To Hell (HD, 52 min)
• The Most Triumphant Making-of (1080i/60, 31 min)
• Score! An Interview with Guitarist Steve Vai (1080i/60, 13 min)
• Air Guitar Tutorial (1080i/60, 13 min)
• Vintage EPK (1080i/60, 7 min)
• The Linguistic Stylings of Bill & Ted (1080i/60, 4 min)

Bill & Ted Face the Music

Blu-ray Disc

• The Official Bill & Ted Face The Music Panel at Comic-Con@Home (HD, 43 min)
• Be Excellent to Each Other (HD, 1 min)
• A Most Triumphant Duo (HD, 1 min)
• Death's Crib (HD, 1 min)
• Social Piece (Excellence) (HD, 1 min)

The Bill & Ted movies have stood the test of time, a most triumphantly awesome trio of time-traveling movies. With Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters headlining each show, the cult comedy trilogy follows the two lovable, headbanging doofuses in an Excellent Adventure across history, a Bogus Journey through eternal damnation and eventually made to Face the Music of their future, making them a most righteous voyage in a vintage phone booth. Shout! Factory celebrates the franchise's 35th Anniversary on 4K Ultra HD in a six-disc collector's edition dubbed the Most Triumphant Trilogy, featuring a most excellent Dolby Vision HDR and DTS-HD MA presentation for each entry. With a worthy assortment of bonus features, the overall UHD edition is Recommended for the whole family looking for a phone booth packed with laughs and fun.

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.