Bill and Ted: The modern Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

So you probably have heard of the movie. But if you haven't actually sat down and watched it, then you can't fully appreciate how Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure may well be the single greatest film ever made. And I say "may be" because its brilliance is at least equaled, if not succeeded, by the sequel: Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

Bill S. Preston, esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves) have one night to complete their history project and receive an A. If they fail, Ted will be shipped off to Oates Military Academy the following semester, and Bill and Ted's band Wyld Stallyns will be destroyed forever. But just when all looks lost, who should materialize but George Carlin (well, technically the character's name is Rufus, but Rufus is George Carlin from the future) in a time-traveling phone booth. Carlin explains that he has been sent from the future to help them complete their project. The utopian society of the future is based on Wyld Stallyns' music, says Rufus, and so it is essential that Bill and Ted be kept together.

Following such an introduction, only cinematic perfection can ensue: Bill and Ted load into the phone booth and travel time, collecting historical figures such as Billy the Kid, Ghengis Kahn, Joan of Arc and Socrates (whom they call So-crates).

With this breadth of opportunity for hilarity, this premise could not help but succeed. Bill and Ted could go anywhere, do anything and meet anyone. An example scene when they land in King Arthur's Time:

Black Knight: "Take them to the Iron Maiden."

Bill and Ted: "Iron Maiden! Rock!"

Black Knight: "Kill them."

Bill and Ted: "Bogus."

Placing two '80s SoCal surfer dudes into any historical context obviously creates comedy, but running them through many different times on a mission to save the world is clearly brilliant.

While Bill is the leader of this dynamic duo, it is Keanu Reeves' Ted that truly anchors the film. Guildenstern to Bill's Rosencrantz, Ted somehow manages to be even more obliviously simple at every turn. Alone, neither character would be terribly funny, but together they function as a perfect team because they are both on the same ridiculous wavelength.

One would think the sequel to such a wacky comedy would be stupid and generally humorless, but in this case one would be terribly wrong. In a religious parody equaled only by Dogma in recent cinema, Bill and Ted traverse heaven and hell in order to keep evil android Bill and Ted (who came from the future, of course) from ruining Wyld Stallyns' big shot at the battle of the bands.

New characters like Death (who looks like same famous Death from The Seventh Seal, but this time around acts like a complete nerd) and the alien scientist Station add to the fun, while the clownish charm of Bill and Ted never gets old. The writers were smart enough not to use the same premise again, sending Bill and Ted on a different though equally wacky adventure. The Hell sequences alone are more visually impressive and creative than most of today's computer generated effects.

The climactic battle of the bands scene, in which Bill and Ted face down the evil robot Bill and Ted and go on to rock and roll glory, ranks among the greatest scenes ever shot. Robots fighting, time travel, plot twists and '80s rock band parody combine to make the ultimate ending to a ridiculously satisfying two movie series.