MPAA Rating: R/ Genre: Horror/ Stars: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, Teach Grant, Xavier Dolan, Taylor Frey/ Runtime: 169 minutes
When it came to having to work with a novel that, among other noteworthy details, is an astonishing 1,138 pages in length, it is the opinion of this reviewer that Andy Muschietti and his team that worked with him on bringing the infamous story of a killer clown and the group of people who’ve sworn to destroy him most assuredly did the right thing by dividing the book into 2 distinct movies. This is because the source material is organically designed to be two distinct halves since the complete story is told over 2 unique eras of time that are divided by no less of a span of 27 years. Thus by taking them on individually, the filmmaking team has given themselves the luxury of including aspects that most definitely would not have been a part of an adaptation that was done in one movie. However the advantages of this approach were most assuredly seen when the first half of this story was released back in 2017. Indeed with the wonderful foundation having been accomplished, it was seen as most definitely working in this film, the 2nd half of the story’s favor.
Unfortunately it would appear that there was a little bit of a particular catch to this method of madness. A catch that has waited patiently to make itself obvious only now following the sequel’s release. This catch consists of the fact that, despite the idea to make a pair of films being done way before filming began, the 2 films were not made back-to-back. As such, if that had been accomplished then this would have permitted the first film to be able to have everything it needed to then move forward into the second. Yet by not doing this what winds up occurring is that the second movie has to keep going back in time in order to belatedly add in details that are crucial yet hadn’t been revealed. Thus what an audience is able to detect is an extreme imbalance that was completely lacking in the first film thus making this film to still be a good film even if it is a pretty decent downgrade from what came before it.
The plot is as follows: even though things are really rushed, IT Chapter 2 takes us all back to Derry in 2016 where we see Pennywise return with a serious vengeance. A vengeance that quickly is picked up on by an adult Mike Hanlon who chose to stay behind in Derry and who, without hesitation, quickly calls up the rest of the now-adult Losers Club and invites them back home in order to fulfill the oath that they made when they were kids. Thus, despite the fact that they can barely remember the events of what happened that one summer when they were kids, Bill, Beverly, Ben, Eddie, and Richie all decide to head home at the request of Mike. Yet even though the group is absolutely thrilled to get to see one another again, things quickly go south when they find themselves remembering just what they experienced as well as what they vowed to one another. However, despite the fact that the group is mortified about the idea of facing their old nemesis once again, Mike strongly feels that they will succeed in finishing him off once and for all. Not only that, but the weapons they need will be in what they remember about Derry. Thus Mike sends each of the group on their own into town to find a distinct totem that will help them in the battle ahead. With that the group sets out on their quests, and in the process, reflect not so much on when they were spending time together, but rather during the times that they weren’t. Indeed it is only through this that they can reunite as friends, and give Pennywise the butt whoopin’ he’s had coming to him for a long, long, long time…
Now if you remember at the end of IT Chapter 1, spoiler alert, The Losers Club all split up following their first joint fight against Pennywise. The reason that is so crucial is because it is the period following them splitting up that this movie chooses to utilize for its moments when it does flashbacks. To be fair the movie does make the brilliant decision to bring back Jaeden Martell, Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, and Finn Wolfhard to play their respective characters and honestly it doesn’t take a psychic to see why since this is one group that is fantastic both together and separately and also was a decent-size reason the first movie was so magical. Yet at the same time, and from another point of view, I hate to say it, but the kids being a part of the overall story in this one really does prove to be both diverting and divisive because it really restrains the movie from ever letting the adult versions of these characters who are supposed to be at the center of this part of the story from ever really being there.
Now if this cinematic experience had been scripted at the same time as the first one, then all these extra moments that we get with the kids, which it should also be said also needed some serious digital magic to be done since the kids had to look the same age as when they made Part 1, could just have been part of the shooting of the first part thus severely reducing the amount of flashbacks in this one. However since this movie makes at least 6 flashback trips back to 1989, due to each character having one, what is left on the chopping block is instances that help audiences better comprehend just who these characters became when they grew up and became adults as well as moments that showcase this group as reunited, but still torn apart in a sense. Indeed this was the entire reasoning behind why this book was supposed to be split into 2 different movies. Instead however, IT Chapter 2 tragically finds itself getting ensnared by the typical pitfall that a lot of sequels fall prey to in the form of over-showcasing the things that worked before rather than completely working with the forthcoming.
With that being said, I nevertheless do feel that this movie did manage to bring together a wonderful set of actors to play the adult Losers Club, and they also on an individual level also get some wonderful material in regards to their respective characters to play with here. This of course starts with acting powerhouses James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain who together deliver a pair of phenomenal updates of their younger counterparts Bill and Bev who, despite 27 years passing, still find themselves traumatized and haunted by both their respective losses as well as the horrendous abuses that have been put on them. Indeed it isn’t a spoiler to say this film’s narrative really puts them through absolute emotional hell and back and in the process proving to be a terrific showcase for these 2 actors’ talents for dramatic work. Also giving a wonderful performance is James Ransone from Sinister who actually makes for a wonderful grown-up Eddie even if every so often he’ll go too far with the neurotic side of the character. Ultimately however, I feel that if there was ever a stand-out star from the main group it would undoubtedly have to be Bill Hader. Indeed in the eyes of this reviewer it was obvious after seeing the first part of this story that the acclaimed comedic talent would be spot-on in the role of Adult-Richie, but besides actually looking like a grown-up Finn Wolfhard and having the attitude nailed down perfectly, Bill Hader also manages to contribute what is plain and simply a terrific turn that manages to add more to the character than even what was put down by Stephen King in the novel. Indeed it should come as no shock that the character is funny when he needs to be, and that’s quite often, but it’s also the fact that Hader manages to provide a dramatic foundation to the character that makes this a truly fantastic and special part of this movie.
Of course it should come as no surprise that parts of the character that is Richie Tozer are not the only items that have been altered in the process of bringing the book to life. However most of these alterations were done in order to aid in the design of some of the movie’s frights with such notable moments including Bill attempting to save a child from Pennywise while in a fun house or Eddie finding himself being scared silly while in the basement of the town’s drugstore. Yet it should also be said that these scares are quite welcome in part because they also come alongside some scares that are straight from the source material including a giant and terrifying statue of a Paul Bunyan-looking lumberjack come to life, Babe the Blue Ox apparently had scheduling conflicts and couldn’t make it, and the horrors that befall poor Beverly when she returns to the apartment where she used to live for the first time in years.
Going into a little bit more detail on the concept of scares, I feel it should be said that this movie actually does have quote the impressive number of genuine horror-tinged moments to it. Not only that, but it also proves to be a film that manages to be the introducer of quite a few new macabre moments and imagery that are destined to haunt the viewer in their dreams for years to come. Yet even here, and it saddens me to say it, there are a few hiccups on display as well. That’s because despite all these delightfully terrifying moments you have throughout the movie, they are also not the most horrific experience you could have while watching a movie like this. I mean make no mistake: Bill Skarsgard is once again quite the revelation as Pennywise, but due to a huge chunk of his screen-time in this being utilized to take on other characters, the film, in quite the odd way, actually leaves you wishing that you got to see more of the monster in his natural form rather than some of these other, albeit equally as terrifying for the most part, ruses that Pennywise uses to terrorize our characters with.
All in all it was most certainly going to be quite the uphill battle for IT Chapter 2 to be able to even remotely be on the same level as its predecessor. As such, this is a film which simply has to settle for being plain and simply good rather than great. Nevertheless, this film still manages to have quite a bit to give audiences despite its imperfections as a sequel as it manages to carefully teeter-totter between issues with the narrative structure alongside its terrific additions in some of the grown-up versions of The Losers Club. Yet I feel that a lot of the issues that this movie has might ultimately get fixed should the director and studio set themselves to giving us this rendition of the film in one six-hour long epic rather than 2 2.5+ hour long movies. On a scale of 1-5 I give IT Chapter 2 a 3.5 out of 5.
