Jerky and spasmodic.... no, I'm not talking about Pennywise.

Rating: 5/10 (5 October 2019)

Unlike most of the world's population, it seems, I found the original "It" from 2017 decidedly so-so. I gave it just 2/5. Would the next chapter be any better?
27 years have passed since the terrors of the first film, and life in Derry, Maine has returned to normal. Indeed, all the kids who have left Derry and got on with their lives have mystically forgotten all that happened to them. The only one to remember is Mike (Isaiah Mustafa, channeling young Denzel) - the only one to stay in town. When Pennywise returns, like a bad-penny(wise) with heart-munching zeal, Mike calls all of his former friends to ask them to follow through on their blood-pact and return to fight their foe. All but one are set to return.
Mike believes a native Indian ritual may finally defeat the shape-shifting clown, but for it to work each member of the team needs to find a personal 'artifact' around the town. And that brings each of them into personal danger.
The film has some superb moments. A little girl, sat on the bleachers and bored with a school baseball match, is dazzled by a firefly and follows it underneath the seats. It is suddenly captured by white-gloved hands. Pennywise the clown emerges from the darkness, scaring the girl but with honeyed words persuades her to stay. And then....
It's a brilliant bit of film-making, and really should have been the start of the film to replace a rather unpleasant homophobic sequence.
There are a half-dozen other stand-out horror moments to enjoy, but they are scattered across the running time and never gelled into a satisfactory whole for me.
There is also a nice running joke about the ending of a film (within the film) not being half as good as the book; a clear reference to the poor ending of the original film that could never match up to the sexually troubling, and rather un-filmable, ending of the book!
The film really loses its way in the middle reel, when everybody wanders off alone in search for their "artifacts". Some of these sections are fun and deliver. Some are a bit lacklustre. But the big issue is that the approach, together with the regular flashbacks to the youngsters, makes the whole middle of the film extremely episodic. The heart of the movie is the interaction between the team... and this section saps all the momentum out of the film.
It sure is an excellent cast, with James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain both acting their blood-stained socks off.
Sophia Lillis is again extremely watchable as the young Beverly, neatly matching - both physically and emotionally - to Chastain's older character. (Note: there is a moment of marital violence in the film that might upset some more than the pretend horror on show).
My favourite turn in the film was Bill Hader as the stand-up comedian Richie Tozier. Always ready with a quip, but underneath it all a selfish and troubled soul.
Look out as well for a nice cameo by Stephen King himself.
One of the things that really annoys me in movies, apart of course from mindless voiceovers, is a finale that goes on and on and on. This is a case in point. After a final battle (which is entertaining if a bit twee and illogical) there are multiple "final scenes" that go on and on and on and then rather end as a whimper rather than a shout.
Directed by the original "It" director Andy Muschietti, I enjoyed this sequel more than the original. The cast is excellent and the "episodes" although inherently disjointed are good enough to sufficiently entertain throughout. It's not a great horror film in my book - I actually enjoyed "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" far more - but worth a watch.
(For the full graphical review, please check out One Mann's Movies on the internet or Facebook. Thanks.).