इट चैप्टर टू

I really, realllly wanted to like this film. As a huge fan of the original mini-series (and EVERYTHING Tim Curry), I knew I'd have a challenge going into both Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 with an open mind. I had to separate. I didn't have as high of expectations as I did for Chapter 1 as Part 2 of the mini series was much weaker than the Part 1 anyway as well as Stephen King's It (Book).

The actors were great. Even the first few jump scares were decent, and then it just became overkill. And not scary whatsoever. All of the CGI monsters look ridiculous and completely take you out of the moment. I grew up watching 80s/90s horror (AND LOVING IT). The baddies were REAL and TERRIFYING. For example, Mrs. Massey, the bloated bathtub corpse in The Shining. That was a real, completely horrifying image that has stayed with me 30 years after I First saw the movie. I don't understand the obsession with CGI when there's no need for it.

Sadly, this movie was just a drawn out bore.

I was originally hesitant to see director Andy Muschietti's rendition of Stephen King's beloved book "It" back in 2017, but after hearing splendid reviews from fans and critics; I took a chance and came out pleasantly surprised. Since then, I agree with why that is now considered by many to be a modern Horror classic.

Now our favorite Losers club are back to face Pennywise again in "It: Chapter Two". Adding up all of that and that this is my second most anticipated mainstream film of the year, does it live up to the hype? Well, somewhat. It's an imperfect but solid sequel.

In spite of a three hour runtime it kept my attention for the entire ride. Like "Chapter One"; it's wonderfully shot (with effective use of sepia tone colors) and the editing and scene transitions are eye popping. Many of the dialogue and scares are cleverly written (a scene at a restaurant is a highlight).

In spite of an often unsettling plot, there is plenty of levity to be found here. It unfortunately suffers from inappropriate timing with many of the jokes, causing the film to play like a dark comedy. Half of the frightening and dramatic moments are finished by gags and one-liners. There is one scary sequence that really works until it's ruined by a joke straight out of a Deadpool film.

The pacing is troubling at times; since some of the opening introductions are rushed, while certain flashbacks to the younger versions of the Losers Club could've been shorter. This makes the narrative not feel as fresh or as fulfilled compared to the first film.

It's most accomplished at being an emotionally fulfilling journey for the Losers club. This is sharpened by the adult actors being dead ringers for the kids from the original; including the main highlight Bill Hader- an instant classic as Richie, as he combines the best of his talent from "Saturday Night Live" with intense urgency to best serve the idea of "What would Richie from It be like if he grew up?"

If you're looking for a good cinematic start for this Halloween season, and something to bring you back all the feels from Chapter One from September 2017; Chapter Two is a somewhat messy but nicely done job.



Grade- B

It was entertaining, but they seemed confused as to whether the movie was supposed to be horror or a comedy. Several scenes had the audience trying to laugh and then scream, practically in the same breath. For a 3 hour movie, they should've better managed the emotional pacing of the film.

I couldn't wait for it to end.

CGI was horrible at times.

Wait for it to come out on video. At least you can pause it and take a break.

In comparison to the first chapter of this remake, then the 2019 "It: Chapter Two" was just a massive step back in the wrong direction.

Why? Well, first of all, Pennywise wasn't scary at all. In fact, it was progressively getting more and more difficult to take him serious as an embodiment of evil as the movie progressed, because he was just too goofy. And whereas he was genuinely disturbing in the first chapter, the clown was just loosing it in chapter two.

And running at close to three hours, "It: Chapter Two" was just too long, and too much of a drag to sit through, especially when so much of the contents just felt like it was there to fill in the movie and add to the play time of the movie. There were so many things that could easily have been trimmed away without the storyline suffering.

The CGI was good, and definitely carried the movie a long way. But some of the CGI such as the long-limbed old woman chasing Beverly was just too comical and didn't really feel like it fit into the movie.

It was nice that they actually had Stephen King himself in the movie for a short cameo.

They had a good selection of casted actors and actresses to perform in the movie as the adult versions of the children that Pennywise stalked and fought. It was really nice to see James McAvoy in the movie.

All in all, this wasn't really a fulfilling conclusion of the first chapter, and I was left with a feeling of 'was that really it?' when the movie ended. The movie was not as intense and interesting as the 2017 "It: Chapter One" movie was.

I am rating "It: Chapter Two" six out of ten stars.