The Stephen King adaptation we were waiting for

Rating: 10/10 (7 September 2017)

It's been 23 years since we had - probably - the best adaptation based on Stephen King's work to date: The Shawshank Redemption. After so many failures like Dreamcatcher, Desperation and - sadly and more recently - The Dark Tower, we finally got IT!
The adaptation of IT was surrounded by high expectations. That because Andy Muschietti - the director - showed through social media and interviews how much he loved and respected the source material. Pretty much like Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings (but not with The Hobbit), the argentine filmmaker directed and made this movie with LOVE. The result could not be any different: it's an outstanding interpretation.
The movie has a few flaws. I wasn't very fond of the narrative at beginning. The movie shows the kids separated and being scared by IT in a series of scenes that have no bridges between them, there's not much plot until the path of the seven kids finally converge. Another point was the special effects, some were great, but some weren't, and that might harm some vital scenes.
Finally, although not a problem (but it could have been a massive one) the director used too much humour. Don't get me wrong, Stephen King is a hilarious guy when he wants to be, but Andy was too dangerously close to turn this movie into an adventure-comedy-with- horror elements (like The Goonies and Monster Squad), instead of a coming-to-age-horror-story. Nonetheless, I feel like he averted that at last second. Finn Wolfhard as Richie is funny as hell and Jack Grazer as Eddie also delivers his share of hilarity.
Speaking of the kids, I was impressed and couldn't believe how EACH ONE OF THEM is awesome. I'm not exaggerating, the seven kids are great actors. Kudos to Jaeden Lieberher as Bill and Sophia Lillis as Bev, who had the most dramatic arches of them all and did a wonderful job. It's a pleasure to see this gang together and how the chemistry flows naturally.
Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise is superb. We all have Tim Curry forever in our hearts, but Bill was capable of giving the Dancing Clown his own persona, and it's also great. You can clearly see that IT is having a hell of fun, but to the kids and the audience, there's nothing fun or funny about it, and that's what Pennywise is all about. The character was disgusting, horrendous and terrifying - like IT needs to be. I was so satisfied that Andy got IT's essence.
Finally, I want to give congratulations to Andy himself. His love for the details was clear. Of course he couldn't adapt every single page of that behemoth of a book, and had to cut some really silly moments that only our dear Stephen King could give us (like killing the monster with a sling and the orgy scene - that no matter what King says to justify it, it will always be an unnecessary and disgusting part of the book to me). I loved the directing and the cinematography. To me the changes were great. Although I think that ACT I was too fast paced, ACT II and ACT III ran perfectly.
This is the Stephen King adaptation that we have been waiting for since The Shawshank Redemption, guys, so don't waste any time and go see it on theaters - I somehow suspect that the movie may lose a part of its strength on DVD or Blu-Ray, so don't waste your chance!
Special mention to Nicholas Hamilton as Henry Bowers. Great kid!
Can't wait for Chapter Two - probably in 2019.