Lives up to the 1990 mini-series

Rating: 7/10 (3 September 2019)

I liked the 1990 It mini-series. The adult part wasn't good but I always found the child portion to be fascinating so it's great to see another good adaptation of the first half of It.
The film follows a group of kids, known as The Losers Club, who try to get rid of a monster that frequently takes form of a clown and feeds off the kids of Derry.
Straight off the bat, I thought the acting overall was really good. Whenever I see a child actor in a film, I'm always worried about their performance since it can be over the top or not good at all but thankfully this wasn't the case. All the child performances were really good. Each character felt relatable and so I could connect with them. All the kids played off each other which made their chemistry seem believable. Bill Skarsgard had a lot to live up to since Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise was the best part of the mini-series and I found Skarsgard to be sublime. His take on Pennywise was very scary. Every time he was on screen I could feel a strong sense of threat. It wasn't just the effects that made him scary because his expression alone gave creepy and unsettling vibes.
Visually, this film looks great. Andy Muschietti's direction is really good. The movie is shot well and the cinematography portrayed the 80s just like how it would be. The writing was pretty good. We learnt a lot about each character and this made me want to root for them more. I thought the character of Henry Bowers was well realised and it made sense as to why he acts as a bully. I wish the character of Mike was more developed though since we don't see or learn much about him.
As for complaints, I didn't like the overuse of jumpscares sprinkled throughout the film's entirety. It took away some of the fear and scare aspects of the film. The sewer scene would have been much more effective and creepy without the use of a jumpscare. It would have felt more terrifying if they scared the audience visually rather than a loud noise which makes you jolt for a few seconds.
Aside from that, this is a well made Stephen King adaptation. For me, this is on par or even better than the first half of the mini-series. I look forward to see how Muschietti handles the adult segment of It and his future films.