I mean...

Rating: 5/10 (8 September 2017)

... yes, i thought Andy Muschietti did a nice job directing this movie. ... yes, the kids were a lot of fun to watch throughout this film
... yes, Penny Wise was recreated in a way that every purist would be satisfied with.
but the story?.. oh man, more holes than Swiss cheese! Where are the Suicide Squad critics when you need 'em?
I've read a ton of these reviews here and i am just amazed at how many people just don't care that the actual story was a complete and utter mess! Does anybody even TRY to consider the basics of storytelling when watching movies anymore?? There should be more to the story than, "Avoid the clown, he's trying to get you - get him before he gets you"
For starters, they never really clarify what 'IT' is - or why - or how to kill IT... or when to expect IT... or how to avoid IT.. or how it became IT etc. There's no rhyme or reason to IT and there will be no explanation, so I hope you're not expecting one.
IT never is explained! They never draw a line and let you know when IT is playing with their minds or when IT is real and physical - or why... or why THESE kids are being haunted. Are any other kids being haunted? (Is this even a haunting?!) Why can some see it and others can't? What does IT want?! (Geez!!)
Oddly enough, they spend more time focusing on each kids' parents, who are all abusive in some way, whether physically, sexually, or emotionally, than they do developing the Penny Wise story. Virtually every parent is ugly inside in some way and they never connect these dots. Even the town pharmacist is a lurking pedophile ("You look like Lois Lane" wink~wink) They spend all this time on the parental development and none of it factors into the ending or the rest of the story. Makes no sense WHY they would have chosen to spend the time here.
They do make a quasi attempt to show one of the kids interest by showing him researching the town's history in the town library -this leads to the kid running through the library basement trying to get away from killer clowns - but as it turns out - they're not even real!! Just a figment of his imagination apparently.
But, then there are the over-the-top, neighborhood bullies that do a little more than simply knock your books out of your hand and poke fun. These thugs are out for blood for some reason (literally). One day, after catching one of their favorite targets they decide to carve initials into his belly with a knife (yes, fourteen year old bullies). The kid somehow breaks free, a chase ensues which leads one of these bullies right into an above ground sewer. A few minutes later, the bully is shown being attacked by a group of killer clowns while in the sewer... you may assume this was just a figment of his imagination too, right?... but no - this time, it was real. Why was this one different than the other? How do we know this one was real? Well, it certainly wasn't because the bullies were talking about it, or mentioning it at all. Matter of fact, the bullies carry on each day beating on kids as if he was still right there in the group.The only way we know his interaction with the clowns was real (?) was because there is a two second clip that shows someone posting a 'Missing Child' poster with the bullies image - but it's business as usual otherwise.
**SPOILERS** The young girl is captured at the end of the movie and then looks down Penny Wise's throat at some kind of light.. this seemingly puts her in a trance and now she just floats - er - hovers in the air looking up at the sewer. No explanation!... however, when the group finally catches up to her and finds her floating, one of the kids grabs her and kisses her - magically, her spell is broken and she is normal again... no explanation!... why?
To follow up on the hovering girl... during this same final scene, everybody is in this big room where it appears that all the missing kids from the years before are floating in the air in a slow, circular motion. They are doing nothing but floating... NO explanation... just floating... now, one would assume that just like the girl in the group that had her spell broken by being kissed that these kids were not actually dead (?) and could be saved (?).... Once Penny Wise bids his farewell, the children start floating back down... but... that's all you know. Do they wake up? Are they floating down to die in peace? Do they all walk out together? NO EXPLANATION!! As far as the other elements, i thought they tried WAY too hard to copy Stranger Things, going so far as casting Finn Wolfhard. I thought this was a really bad idea. Not because of Finn (I love this kid!), but because it should have tried to separate itself from Stranger Things - not try to get closer to it.
The kills were ALL pretty soft. Nothing creative. For example, when they killed the main bully, he only fell down a well (he deserved such a bloodier fate!) Penny Wise was smacked around a little with some clubs but he left on his own terms (he wasn't actually killed!) Meh... too much, "NO EXPLANATION" for me. It was an OK movie. It was entertaining and some of the shots were nicely framed. The score was pretty nice and eerie at times. Many of the elements that you would have wanted to excel were all here – it was just the bad story line that's tough to forgive.