A good film, though it's inferior to Chapter 1

Rating: 7/10 (28 November 2019)

It's rare that a sequel almost completely abandons the tone of a blockbuster success, but It: Chapter 2 does so to varying degrees.
To be fair, the "part 2" of It was always going to be less scary, but It: Chapter 2 went in so many different directions it's almost unrecognizable at times that this was by the same director. It: Chapter 2 is clearly a product of Andy Muschietti, but it's almost like he directed it to be as different as he could.
Blending elements of horror, action, fantasy and comedy, It: Chapter 2 concludes the story of the Losers Club and Pennywise in a way that fans of the book can probably be happy with, but I think the general public will be in for a letdown.
Picking up 27 years after It was temporarily defeated by the Losers Club, It is back to feast on the town of Derry. The one remaining Loser in Derry, Mike Hanlon, calls out to his fellow Losers to fulfill the oath they took all those years ago: if It came back, they'd finish the job. So our band of merry folk return, only to realize that since they left Derry all those years ago that they have lost all memory of It, but they slowly come back once together again. In his obsessive years of research Mike has learned of a Native American ritual that can force It to reveal its true form and thus defeat it once and for all. Will the Losers finish this clown for good? Will it turn out to be a giant spider? Will fortune cookies end up killing them all?!
So first off It: Chapter 2 is barely a horror movie. There is no sense that the town itself is hostile anymore. The Losers are now adults so they aren't really the target of It, though It does like to taunt them. There are a couple of scenes where It picks off random people but there's no reason to care about the victim's safety. There is really only one segment of It: Chapter 2 that attempts to be a horror movie - about 45 minutes of flashbacks to It terrorizing the young Losers during that time between them breaking up and when Beverly is kidnapped (although honestly the creepy CGI de-aging was more terrifying). Oh, and the fun-house scene that was in all the trailers where Bill attempts to save a kid from It; I liked that one a lot.
It: Chapter 2 might not be scary, but it at least has some decent laughs and action. Bill Hader as the grown up Richie really does nail all the comedy bits as he's thankfully grown out of all the sex jokes. In fact some of the "scary" scenes elicit more laughs than screams which had to be intentional (giant lumberjack statues are not scary!). It: Chapter 2 is oddly fun when it chooses to be.
Even though the film constantly jokes about weak endings (remember, Stephen King is notoriously bad at them), I can say that the ending of It: Chapter 2 wasn't that weak. As a lot of people know the ending of the original It is, well, not good. It: Chapter 2's ending is far more action-orientated, blends in elements of It's reality-warping powers, and really emphasizes that the Losers' own bonds were what saved them all along. Also, It doesn't just transform into a giant spider animatronic ... thank god.
The most common criticism of It: Chapter 2 is that it is almost 3-hours long; that length for a "horror" film is almost unheard of. There's a rumored 4-hour long cut of the film too! It seems like the main reason for this extended length are the scenes of the younger Losers which honestly feels out of place. I'm sure the studio wanted the kids to come back in a meaningful way, but man does it feel unnecessary. The film really should have been at most the same length as the original, though I admit I'm interested in seeing the 4-hour cut to see exactly what the hell they they filmed but didn't include from Stephen King's notoriously long novel.
In a way It: Chapter 2 is oddly streamlined despite the length. It all but eliminates the subplots that took up a lot of It, as well as the ones that could have been in Chapter 2 regarding the new spouses of the Losers. Maybe the extended cut has more of Bill's wife being kidnapped by Beverly's abusive husband, but I'm glad they cut it here.
Even if you can criticize a lot about It: Chapter 2, its cast isn't one of them. Bill Skarsgard is back as Pennywise, and he yet again delivers a masterful performance as the nigh-omnipotent menace. The young cast from the first It is back (sometimes creepily CGI'd to death), as well as some great casting choices for Chapter 2 with James McAvoy as Bill and Jessica Chastain as Beverly (didn't they just try to kill each other in Dark Phoenix?!). These two get the most screen time due to their A-list pedigree, but the rest of the cast match up with their younger parts well. The obvious standout is Bill Hader as Richie who steals every scene he's in; there is no one else who could have played this part as well.
It: Chapter 2 is flawed, but I still enjoyed it. I wasn't going into the film expecting a horror movie as I was somewhat familiar with the source material, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well Muschietti executed a difficult adaptation. While it was way too long, It: Chapter 2 moved fast enough that I didn't find myself glancing at my watch. I am a gigantic fan of horror films but rarely if ever get scared by them, so the lack of scares wasn't a detractor for me. For those that wanted a copy of the first film, It: Chapter 2 may disappoint.
No one will ever say It: Chapter 2 is a better film than It, but that's not to say it's a bad movie. It: Chapter 2 is the slightly inferior little brother to a surprise hit that no one expected to be as good as it was. It: Chapter 2 is well made, has loads of laughs, great performances, an ending that doesn't suck, but just doesn't have It's magic. If you enjoyed It then Chapter 2 is a no-brainer, but for those on the fence I'd say just float on. (I apologize for that joke immediately)