IT 2017 review: Achieving buoyancy in the sewers

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2018)

I think it is safe to say that the original It TV miniseries (1990) has not aged well, that show suffered from a pretty decent first half before dropping greatly in quality in the second half. Tim Curry's take on Pennywise is fondly remembered and I can see why on one hand but there were moments of goofiness that plagued the entire miniseries. Not to mention the second half which somehow had adults giving worse performances then the child actors? When people heard about the remake I remember people being ill at ease. Many people feared a substandard remake that would tarnish or misunderstand the source material that inspired the miniseries. Let's find out shall we?
October 1998 Georgie Denbrough disappears while playing in the rain, the following summer older brother Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) is still struggling to make sense of it. He still can't process it. He and 6 other children find themselves haunted by a terrifying clown calling itself Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård). The seven kids (Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Grazer, Wyatt Oleff and Sophia Lillis) form the Loser's club to find a way of killing this clown. That is all I can say sadly about the plot, I do not want to run the risk of spoiling things unnecessary, the movie does not deserve it. I know it is based off a book and there is TV show that follows the same plot as this movie, the half anyway.
Firstly the movie gets rid of a lot of the goofy moments that might have worked as a book might not work as well in a movie or miniseries, this was something the TV series did not understand and it suffered as a result. IT 2017 avoids this pitfall by making the manifestations the children experience more relatable. The movie works well with the theme of innocence corrupted with manifestations that make sense both on a adult and child level. IT somehow makes the phase "You will float down here" seem actually scary and by some strange magic was able to make red balloons somewhat chilling! It also adds some new scares that turn things associated with childhood into nightmarish creations.
I am saying that the film is actually frightening, unlike the TV show.
Speaking of frightening Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise shines, he deserves to be placed next to Tim Curry. There might even be a debate that Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise is better then Tim Curry's Pennywise. He made my skin crawl whenever he was on screen; he is what a demonic clown should look like. There is not much more to say really, he is good, fantastic even; he deserves all the praise he gets. Another risk any film with a majority child cast has to deal with is the inherit problem that most child actors are inexperienced or lack the refined talent. Fortunately much like the miniseries the kids give great performances that feel not only convincing but real as well. The simple fact that most kids around ages of 11 will be swearing and getting into trouble makes the dialogue just that little bit more real.
IT 2017 smartly starts out with the child part of the story; the second chapter I have no doubt will feature the adults. I would say that even if there was never another movie IT 2017 does not suffer in the slightest. It works on its own as well as a starting point. I look forward to chapter 2. Who knows it might defy treads and be just as good. We will see in time.