I really liked it. I could have loved it.

Rating: 7/10 (6 September 2019)

(SPOILERS) It chapter 2 is a sort of glorious mess of best intentions. But I think its weaknesses can be attributed to one simple thing: the success of Chapter 1. The kids in the first film had a natural, unforced charmed. We all knew them, they reminded us of ourselves, our friends, the brats next door. But the adults in this film are not really given time to establish themselves in our hearts, we only see them as adult versions of the kids. It's not that way in the novel. The adult/children version are separate but equally defined. This second film also seems to constantly be trying to replicate the tone and innocent vulgarity of the first film. But it's not the first film , and shouldn't have tried to be. Chapter 1 tells a very simple story, kids form friendship and fight shape-shifting demon from another dimension. We meet the kids, see their first encounters with IT, explore the insecurities they have to overcome, then on to the show down. Even at its foundation, Chapter 2 is a much more complicated tale. Old friends, who have forgotten shape-shifting demon, get called back to fight it, must renew old bonds, be reminded of what IT is, revisit encounters in several flashbacks, be introduced to ancient ritual etc etc... All that to say it could never have been a continuation of Chapter 1. It was essentially a different film. But in trying to match the pacing and tone of the first they cheated the adult cast, and imo, the audience, of a more adult film. ... A dead giveaway to the insecurity of this film is the non-stop score. Whenever filmmakers are unsure of a scenes ability to carry impact, they blast the score. From the moment the adult Losers enter the Niebolt house, the music keeps trying to force the atmosphere. This actually deadens the dynamics of those sections and ruins the scares because the best scares are born in silence. There are so many scenes when they could have just let silence carry the tension and let the play say the thing. Also, and I know people will disagree, there was too much Pennywise in the conclusion. I get why they did that, with the clown spider thing, but as a fan of the novel, I was just hoping to see something more surreal and incomprehensible. Something horrible. Overall it was OK. I enjoyed IT chapter 2. But I could have loved it if it had not been constantly begging to be loved. Knowing this was cut down from 4 hours, provides me hope that the expanded version be able to take it's time and let the adults Losers establish themselves.