It Chapter 2

Stephen King film adaptations are unpredictable in the quality they deliver. That’s usually due to a choice of book they choose to bring to the big or small screen, which is an interesting situation due to the authors history of going through drugs and alcohol with his books. This results in some weird oddities where he can go very dark or bizarre in his stories. One of these horror novels he created during that period of time was IT, which contains over 1100 pages of content. It has been through different adaptations in the media such as the 1990 tv miniseries and the 2017 movie IT Chapter 1, the latter of which I reviewed when it came out. All of this brings us to the 2019 sequel of the latter, IT Chapter 2. When I rewatched the first film, it didn’t change my opinion much about it from my initial viewing (which was that I thought it was okay but has some problems getting in the way of being good or great). The second half of the story (as seen with the miniseries) showed some weird issues that this adaptation would have a challenge of taking on. I went into the auditorium ready to see what it can bring to the adult side of the tale and left it kinda annoyed that it wasted potential in its long 3 hour runtime (I owe an apology to the previous film and the tv miniseries).

What's it about? Taking place in 2016 (27 years after their victory over Pennywise in 1989), the group of friends reunite in Derry, Maine in order to put a stop to the malevolent villain once and for all. There are a few strong points to give credit for when it comes to the story content here. The opening sequence involving a gay couple being harassed before one of them becomes a victim to IT is quite the uncomfortable impression to start off with. There are some sequences that have some pretty cool visuals involved to make it feel more memorable among the standard ones.

However, for the amount of content from the book they chose to keep and get rid of (that I'm aware of due to my limited knowledge with the miniseries), nothing of substance really seems to happen for the incredibly long runtime. Rather than use the opportunity to give these characters development with each other, it becomes incredibly repetitive with its pattern: the group splits up to do something for the plot, each one goes through a "scare" sequence with bad CGI, reunites after that ordeal, (repeat). It tries to have some cheeky sense of humor between making fun of someone for writing bad endings to his own works (Stephen King reference) and having the comic relief tell jokes in many moments that interrupt any drama or fear factor. There are some unnecessary scenes/arcs that are only tacked on to pad out the runtime instead of developing the protagonist. When it comes to the payoff with the finale, it's incredibly lackluster not only for the solution used in the climax but for bad pacing with a narrative that just wastes the potential it had to tell a more interesting story.

How are adults? Anything good? Bad? If there's an impressive feat going for this movie, it's how well cast these adults actors are with looking like to the young counterparts from the previous film is solid. In regards to how their respective characters arcs are handled, however, it's a mixed bag. In the positive side of things, the actors with the better material to handle are Bill Hader and James Ransone. Bill is the MVP as he shines the best taking on a script highlighting his strengths in both drama and comedy, though the humor is hit or miss as mentioned before. James is great in making the most out of his scenes while having some solid banter with Hader (though the chemistry between them is much more friendly than anything romantic the writing wants to hint at).

As for the rest of the actors in the group (James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Isaiah Mustafa, and Jay Ryan), they suffer at the hands of problematic writing. They are trying their best but the script is jumbled and incoherent with the new additions it becomes incredibly distracting (particularly what they gave James and Isaiah to do). They chemistry doesn't work at all when attempting to address a love triangle from the past. As for Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise, he loses the intense scare factor due to his overexposure that leaves the actors schtick weak. Dishonorable mentions goes to Jay Ryan and Andy Bean due to the former being the weakest actors among the cast in regards to his performance as well as being forgettable while the latter suffers from being used as a suicidal martyr to inspire the group as opposed to doing so due to fear of IT.

Overall Consensus: It Chapter 2 is a horrible sequel that trips over its cluttered repetitive script, weaker scares, and lack of emotional investment in most characters, though it shines through cool visuals and performances from Bill Hader and Jack Ransone. ⭑⭑1/4💻 Runtime: 2 hours 49 minutes R

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You don't mind weak boring scare sequences. You are curious about how it compares to the tv miniseries. You are a fan of the previous installment and want to see how it ends here. You like 3 hour long runtimes. You have read the novel and want to see how this adaptation compares.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You hate weak boring scare sequences. You dislike Stephen King film adaptations. You aren't a fan of the previous installment and don't want to see how it ends here. You hate 3 hour long runtimes. You have read the novel and don't want to see how this adaptation compares