Maybe there are books that should never be touched

Rating: 7/10 (28 September 2017)

I am one of those who read the book several times and listened to the audio book as well a couple of weeks in my life. I tried to keep my expectations low though I was really excited when I watched IT in the preview show.
When I left the cinema it was like 'Uhm did Stand by me meet Alien meet The Ring meet Flatliners? The 80's? Really? Well.....do we have to expect cellphones then 27 years later? If anyone of the Losers runs around with an iPhone in the second part I swear I will leave the cinema.
First: Why, why, why did Georgie have to disappear? It's such an important key fact of the entire story and they make him disappear? For real? I loved the first 5 minutes but from that moment onwards when Pennywise took him with him everything went downhill. The motivation for Bill and the Losers Club is simply not accountable onwards.
Then: I understand you have to cut a few side stories but do you REALLY have to change so many things? Mikes parent's dead? Where is Beverly's mum? Henry Bowers dad is a police man?? Ben just moved to Derry and finds out as the only person (and kid) about the history of Derry? And (in my opinion) the worst: why was it Bill cutting the hands and not Stan? It's another so important key fact especially for the character development and they ruined it finally with this scene for me.
The Losers Club: Why did Richie have to be such a....teenager with over boarding hormones? He is actually my favourite character in the book for his sharp tongue and intelligence and the movie made him not look very good. I was annoyed. And the 'your mama' jokes were not very funny either imo.
I really liked Eddie though, and was surprised how well he was casted so he will replace 'my' Eddie from the book because I was really pleased. Beverly is without a doubt very pretty and did well, but in general the entire group was not very well developed. The scene with the projector however was good with Pennywise appearing on the screen, when he jumped into the room though I wanted to facepalm myself though. The best moments were definitely those with the entire Losers Club on-screen.
Pennywise: Is it just me or is he way too handsome for Pennywise? The cheeks - gorgeous! I am not sure you are supposed to have a crush on Pennywise what I find strange myself, but they didn't hide the handsomeness of Bill Skarsgård very well. Girlie note aside, there was never a moment where the full potential of Pennywise was exposed. He is not only a scary shapeshifter who likes to scare and eat kids and bother to give them nightmares but so much more! The last scene really offended me where the Losers Club was beating him up. It's too common, as if he was any other guy. What about Eds asthma spray for example? The actor did a really good job though trying to act with all the unnecessary effects trying to steal his show. My favourite scene was him catching Beverly in the bathroom where IT clearly showed that less is more and I wish they would have respected this fact more.
There was one thing I noticed about the portrait of women in this movie. There is Beverly, the crazy mum of Eds and the librarian, so either the teenage girl discovering her sexuality and women who are out of it and obviously the entire opposite. You have as well nasty teenage girls, but besides there is absolutely no woman involved and only men and fathers around that are no better. Very bewildering, in the book itself it was not so black-white.
The movie gets 7 from me because of the book by Stephen King and for all the small details like the turtle reference, Eddies T-Shirt with Christine on it and so on. I might as well be too overcritical because 'I heart IT' and think it's a book you simply can't make a movie out of it. A series maybe, but no movie would do the book ever, ever justice.
If you have never touched the book and no idea about the background you might enjoy the movie for what it is, but you will have a completely wrong idea about the depth of the entire story. I will watch IT (no pun intended) again and maybe I will like it more, but right now some disappointment is creeping up inside me. No floating so far.