IT Chapter Two Thrills But Doesn't Float As High As The First Chapter

      

      The fall 2019 movie season kicks off with the release of the much anticipated sequel to the 2017 box office smash IT with IT Chapter Two. Arriving in theaters exactly two years after the release of the first part, Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the original film with the first Losers Club group all grown up and reunited once again to defeat the evil demonic clown Pennywise once and for all. The first IT was a surprise to audiences not just with how big of a box office success it became (It was the most successful horror film of all time until the release of Chapter Two, which just crossed a billion dollars worldwide), but how strong it was in quality. It took the first chunk of Stephen King's bestselling novel and brought it to the big screen with passion, dedication, and authenticity. The first IT also arrived in theaters during the height of Netflix's Stranger Things craze, which helped propel the film to insane box office heights. While the first IT film wasn't exactly scary, it was every bit as creepy and effective in terms of executing its story making audiences dread the two year wait for the release of Chapter Two. Now that the sequel to IT has arrived, audiences can now see the completion of the two part arc that concludes the Pennywise story (Unless Warner Brothers gets greedy and tries to conjure an idea for a third film). IT Chapter Two doesn't reach the heights of its predecessor as it feels overlong and lacks some of the heart that made the first film a special occasion with audiences, but it remains a strong second chapter that stands on its own while remaining intense and creepy.

      The storyline for IT Chapter Two takes place 27 years after the events of the previous film with a series of violent acts occurring within the small town the Losers Club grew up in. One of the members of the club (Played by Isaiah Mustafa) hears of the news and remembers the series of murders that happened when he was younger along with remembering the clown Pennywise. He reaches out to the rest of the Losers Club, all who moved away and forgot about the past events though still get chills when seeing his name appear on their contacts. The group ultimately reunites and begins planning on how to track down and stop the murderous clown Pennywise for good. Whereas the first IT showed the formation of the Losers Club and their first defeat of Pennywise, the sequel shows the club as adults reconnecting along with remembering the past with flashbacks of the younger versions of each member looking back while being stalked by Pennywise. Chapter Two carries with it a running time of 169-minutes, that often feels far too long for the story with the films pacing coming off as feeling uneven, particularly the films middle section which deals with the memories. The film feels like its two movies merged into one with the old Losers Club trying to figure out a way to kill Pennywise with the young group reappearing through flashbacks with scenes never seen before in the first film. One wonders how the film would've flowed if the middle section of the movie was trimmed down to focus more on the adult version of the Losers Club noticing the return of Pennywise and coming together to stop him. What made the original a stronger film was how spontaneous it came across as feeling both in terms of the young child actors knocking it out of the park as well as storytelling. There was also a certain level of innocence and vulnerability to seeing the young kids being terrorized by the evil clown as well as heart when seeing their friendships unite. As hard as the adult Losers Club tries (They do pretty damn good), they don't hold the same kind of magic that the child Losers Club possessed.

      In terms of acting performances, the adult cast does a very good job of trying to match their younger counterparts from Chapter One, though the group chemistry as a whole isn't quite as strong. James McAvoy does very good playing Bill with him nailing the characters studder and sharing chemistry with older Beverly played terrifically by Jessica Chastain. As good of a casting choice Chastain was in the role of older Beverly (She's no stranger to the horror genre as she starred in 2012's Mama), one wonders what it would've looked like had Amy Adams played the part instead as she bears a closer resemblance to the younger Beverly. Bill Hader does a very good job playing the adult Richie with his casting feeling spot on to his younger counterpart. The character comes with some of the best one liners in the film even utilizing the F bomb in the same vein as young Richie. Isaiah Mustafa delivers a strong performance as Mike, the member of the Losers Club who stayed behind while the others moved away and ultimately is the only one who remembers the events of the first film while being the key figure in bringing the group back together. Mustafa does a believable job coming across as being obsessive, fanatical, and desperate to get his group of friends back together again to save not just the town but themselves from a dark fate. Jay Ryan does a great job playing Ben, the former obese kid in the group, whose now all muscles and still holding a crush on Beverly, who remains clueless for the most part of Ben's feelings. James Ransone and Andy Bean are solid as Losers Club members Eddie and Stanley with Ransone stealing the show at times along with Hader. Despite the performances of the adult Losers Club being strong and convincing overall, it is the phenomenal performance of Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise that is key and comes across as being totally creepy, manipulative, deceptive, and ultimately convincing. One cannot imagine anyone else stepping into the shoes of Tim Curry other than Skarsgard, he delivers a worthy performance that lives up to the legacy Curry left behind with the 1990 miniseries. The young Losers Club actors once again prove they are the perfect choices for their parts with Jaeden Martell, Wyatt Oleff, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, and Jeremy Ray Taylor delivering awesome performances. Audiences as well as fans of the first film will truly miss the presence of the young Losers Club as they shared unique chemistry, often times better than the adult group. The casting of the adult Loser Club was always going to be one of the key aspects to the success of the sequel and here the casting is largely successful for the most part with just about everyone fitting nicely into their roles.

      As far as the films directing and writing goes, Andy Muschietti returns to the directors chair after his strong directing job on the previous film with the first movies writer Gary Dauberman also reprising his screenwriting duties. Once again, Muschietti proves to be effective with setting up dark and creepy atmospheres, while pushing the films gore to the brink. Some of the films key sequences such as the restaurant scare, Beverly's big sequence with the elderly lady, the mirror scene with Bill, Pennywise and the kid, the basement turned vomit scene, the bathroom stall scene, and the films climactic battle with the giant spider version of Pennywise are all extremely well-executed, exciting, and ultimately gross to watch at times. While these scenes are fantastic to watch, the films pacing can be a slow burn process to get to those moments. Muschietti and Dauberman go to extreme lengths to make the second movie bigger than the first one in almost every aspect, though the sequel doesn't feel as tight as the first film. The energy that Muschietti brought to the first film is still present with the films opening scene being though doesn't top the opening scene from the first movie with Pennywise and Georgie. The main issue with the opening of the sequel is despite it being an effective opener to the story, it serves little relevance to the rest of the movie as the beating of the gay couple doesn't connect with the story of the Losers Club other than Pennywise appearing at the end of the scene. What would've been more creepier is showing Pennywise's control over the town during the scene such as showing the beating of the two young men with people in the town noticing and choosing not to intervene. One doesn't doubt that Muschietti was excited to tell this story along with Dauberman, one wishes that they had more restraint in keeping the story more centered around the adult Losers Club with less flashbacks involving the adults remembering the past in order to make the film move less of a slow burner.

     In regards to the films main execution, the movie itself feels like one terrifying dream that not only comes true but is executed very well. The performances from the cast, both young and old are very good (The young Losers Club group is some of the best kids group ensemble casting in years). The CGI monsters look pretty good, even Pennywise's true form which has received much criticism in the films third act. The films climax has a strong build up, but is ultimately let down by the way Pennywise is defeated, making it come across as feeling anticlimactic. The films humerous bits work for the most part, particularly with the characters Richie and Eddie. One of the strongest compliments the sequel gets is how emotionally connected the audience feels with the Losers Club. The audience witnesses each characters darkest fears along with the memories that haunted them for 27 years as well as the hopeless feeling that they can't beat Pennywise. When the group comes together to face Pennywise once and for all, the audience see's the young kids in adult form coming together once again to defeat an evil force. The films opening scenes where the audience sees the older group in their respective stages in life as they're summoned by Mike to return to the town they all grew up in together, is a treat to see as each actor sells the idea that they are this older version of the kid from the previous film now grown up and had nearly forgotten about their disturbing past.

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      Overall IT Chapter Two is not a perfect film by any means (The film drags in the middle portion and can be extremely slow at certain points, the climax comes across as feeling anticlimactic and tacked on, and Pennywise's true form may disappoint some fans of the story who will automatically prefer Tim Curry's Pennywise's true form from the miniseries), but it's still a worthy second chapter to the IT storyline and brings the arc of Pennywise to a fitting and reasonably satisfactory conclusion. This is a film that could've been told with a two hour running time instead of nearly a full three. Not much happened within the first hour other than seeing the whole group get together again and acting shocked at finding out Pennywise is back. The jump scares are effective though feel somewhat fewer than the amount the first film delivered with both movies sharing the same issue that while they are extremely creepy and disturbing to watch at times, neither film is truly scary. The creatures that appear do their job for the most part in grossing out the audience while being laughable at times with the awkward forms they reveal themselves as (Stephen King has a nice cameo as well in the film). The vomit scene, though funny, has a weird tonal shift where it goes from being a genuinely creepy scene to downright hilarious and goofy with the use of Rock music followed by Eddie's reaction to the situation. Upon watching both movies back to back, one wonders if splitting the story into two parts with the kids story being told first followed by the adults hurt the stories overall pacing as the second film clearly struggles in regards to juggling both subplots back to back. Perhaps it would've been effective if the movie was made into an HBO style miniseries, where it was allowed to remain as one large story that was bookended. Regardless of its faults, IT Chapter Two has much to offer in terms of creeping out its audience and pleasing fans of the 1990 miniseries as well as Stephen King's book. One cannot help but admire how high the filmmakers were aiming for the stars in regards to telling both sides of the IT storyline. As high as they reach, they just can't quite capture the charm and magic of the first film, which ended on a note that was moving seeing the kids take a pledge with each others blood that they would return as adults one day and kill Pennywise once and for all. There's just something about the first one that gives it a special feeling that the sequel, as good as it is despite its issues, can't quite touch.

Final Verdict: If you loved IT Chapter One, you will find Chapter Two enjoyable though agree its not as good of a film.