Stranger Things did it so much better

Rating: 7/10 (17 March 2018)

I cannot say that IT is a bad movie, quite the opposite: it was well acted, scary, interesting. However, you have to naturally compare it with three things: the source material, the miniseries and Stranger Things, which was released just a year before and even featured one of the same actors in the film. And my personal opinion is that with this comparison, the film loses its shine. Admittedly, it only covers the first part of the IT story (with the obligatory sequels coming out soon), but still, it felt like it lacked courage.
Compared to the book, only hints (and I am glad they added those) of the underlying themes in the book are found: the constant bullying of the redneck older kids, the adults ignoring with impunity the plight of kids around them, turning a blind eye to anything they weren't comfortable about, the creepy pharmacist and step dad, the sexual awakening of the kids. Oh, and before you say "God, that girl is beautiful! I totally get the pharmacist." Sophia Lillis is 15! I felt like the movie went too much in favor of special effects, while making the clown less potent, regardless of Bill Skarsgård's great acting.
However, compared to Stranger Things, it was all done simply less well. Did the movie have to be set in the 80's? It had, because the second part has to be 27 years later and they didn't want to make the sequel in the future (although that would have been rad!). But considering that the group of bike riding geeky 80's kids has been done just a bit before, it felt old! Stranger Things went over the trope of "bad kid always a bad kid" which the movie fully embraced. The characters, for a two hour long movie, were also less fleshed out like I would have liked them. The dynamics of the kid group were also better in the series.
Bottom line: without comparing it, the movie is clearly above average, but I have to say that with the quantity and quality of ideas at their disposal, the film's team could have done more. I felt that they chickened out. This had the potential to blow Get Out out of the water with social commentary and focus on the real ideas King explored in the book. The movie had the opportunity to take the story and make it better. Instead, they went with a mere shoe shine of an adaptation that brought nothing new to the table.