A Disappointing, Boring, Uninspired Sequel

Rating: 4/10 (25 September 2019)

Where do I even begin? This movie is literally terrible. I kid you not.
First off, the storyline structure is so messed up. The film is riddled with flashbacks of you Losers from the first film. The issue with that, is because those events took place in the first film, yet we never saw them - we don't care about those flashbacks! You cannot introduce something NEW in this film that supposedly already happened and expect us to care. A huge issue with these flashbacks is that it becomes formulaic. We get a flashback of one of the Losers, then we jump back to present day where they are in that location of the flashback. It's so boring and predictable to watch.
Because of this, Pennywiise becomes so overexposed. He is not scary. We see him so much in this film, we are comfortable with him, thus he has no threat anymore. Because a bulk of this film is flashbacks, the main story is incredibly short. Because of the flashbacks and emphasis on that, the Losers don't feel united until the end of the film. We follow them individually, and it isn't interesting.
Another issue for this "horror" film, is that is isn't scary. It's filled with cheap jumpscares and loud music. That isn't scary! There is creepy imagery, but that is entirely different from being scary.
There's so much ill placed comedy, that makes this film appear as if it was meant to be a comedy. It's...embarrassing. This film is tonally EVERYWHERE, and there are really weird, and disorienting editing choices as well.
I will praise that this film is beautifully shot, and Jessica Chastain literally carries this film. The ending following the climax is also very sweet.
Over all, this is a muddled and disappointing follow up. I don't recommend.