Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Released Feb 17, 1989

1h 30m

Comedy

List

83%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

75%

Audience Score

250,000+ Ratings

Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are high school buddies starting a band. However, they are about to fail their history class, which means Ted would be sent to military school. They receive help from Rufus (George Carlin), a traveler from a future where their band is the foundation for a perfect society. With the use of Rufus' time machine, Bill and Ted travel to various points in history, returning with important figures to help them complete their final history presentation.

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Max

Apple TV

Watch Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are just charming, goofy, and silly enough to make this fluffy time-travel Adventure work.

Read Critics Reviews

Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

Though its one-liners elicit the occasional chortle -- when Bill and Ted don medieval armor, there's an obligatory heavy-metal joke -- the film doesn't engage, because its heroes don't engage with the historical characters.

Rated: 1.5/4

Oct 22, 2014

Full Review

Chris Willman

Los Angeles Times

Make no mistake, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is not a satire of mindlessness; it's unabashed glorification of dumbness for dumbness' sake.

Oct 22, 2014

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Reeves, with his beguilingly blank face and loose-limbed, happy-go-lucky physical vocabulary, and Winter, with his golden curls, gleefully good vibes and 'bodacious' vocabulary, propel this adventure as long as they can.

May 30, 2007

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

The film seems to suggest that our traditional view of greatness in the contemporary US is virtually impossible, but it also democratizes what greatness can look like in a society like ours by elevating friendship, decency and good naturedness.

Jun 14, 2024

Full Review

Kristin Battestella

InSession Film

Sharp dialogue and air guitar exclamations provide chuckle worthy moments that have seeped into the cultural lexicon almost because of the terrible fashions, simplistic eighties effects, and the bizarre vision of a future utopia.

Jul 25, 2023

Full Review

Zoë Rose Bryant

Loud and Clear Reviews

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure has a supremely silly story that some may deem “dated,” but its classic charms - and Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves' pitch-perfect performances - are still just as entertaining as ever.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 1, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Colby B

Hilarious retro comedy, must watch if you haven’t seen it yet

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/30/24

Full Review

Shane K

This movie is the greatest movie about time travel since Back To The Future.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/25/24

Full Review

Nico B

Fun movie. Some aspects of the movie didn't aged that well but it has the heart on the right place.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/24

Full Review

Alan g

A lot of fun. Strangely the historical figures are more historicaly accurate than expected. Good acting. Don't take it too seriously and enjoy the ride.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Johnson C

It had a lot of time travel, and it was fun.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

Lou T

Capturing the most excellent parts of 80's culture, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure crafts a wholly original tale. Though originally a stand-up route by film writers Ed Solomon & Chris Matheson, the pair quickly began reworking it for the big screen. Although it underwent many revisions to set it apart from other famous time-travel franchises, the result may have been a lightning-in-a-bottle mix. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure follows the titular leads as they aspire to start a band while coming close to failing out of high school. Under threat of military school for Ted (Keanu Reeves), the boys must pass their final report to keep their band together. Being aided by Rufus (George Carlin), a time traveler, Bill (Alex Winter) & Ted embark on a journey through time to learn about history firsthand from the people who made it. With a completely bonkers plot, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure proves to be truly excellent. While our displaced duo are flung through time, the various historical figures each delightfully embody their role and paint a fun and adventurous version of their character. While Napolean (Terry Camilleri) stands out the most, as he gets his own side quest, the figures chosen each add some form of humor and excitement to the mix. Heavy on comedy, the executions, and delivery land most of the time and still muster up laughter upon rewatches. Forming an iconic duo, Alex Winter & Keanu Reeves make it hard not to love their characters. Taking an overdone archetype, the pair elevates that by maintaining a charismatic aura that never feels stale. Had anyone else been cast in the lead roles, this film might not have been more than a footnote lost in cinematic history. Though heavily engrained in 80's culture, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure feels timeless in its execution. Complete with a stellar cast, jokes that consistently land, and a wacky plot, this is a film that can be enjoyed over and over again. Be excellent to each other & party on, dudes!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Stephen Herek

Director

Keanu Reeves

Ted Logan

Alex Winter

Bill S. Preston, Esq.

George Carlin

Rufus

Bernie Casey

Mr. Ryan

Amy Stock-Poynton

Missy Preston

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: Official Clip - You Killed Ted!