Pales in comparison to the first

Rating: 5/10 (8 September 2019)

For one, IT (2) feels more like a comedy than a horror. I found myself actually laughing in some of the scenes that I think were intended to be frightful. A prime example is when Beverly visits her old apartment that is now occupied by Mrs. Kersh. Suddenly, this sweet old lady transforms into a tall zombie woman that chases her through the halls. Another is when they are sitting around the table at the restaurant and their fortune cookies start hatching with monstrous creatures. It was laughable and so was the CGI.
Also, where was Pennywise? One of my only complaints about the first one was the lack of screen time for Pennywise but in the sequel he has even LESS. He randomly appears a couple times during the three hour film and when he does, it's very brief. Except for the dragged out ending where he becomes a ginormous spider. Apart from the ending, a scene with Richie and one scene with Bill, the clown has pretty much no interaction with the adult members of the losers club.
Henry Bowers? His character was literally useless and irrelevant in the movie. I honestly don't even know why they brought him back since he was believed to have died in the first one. He was only there to try and kill the main characters who ultimately kill him. No relevance to the plot. How did he even know where everyone would be? Oh right, he was being drove around by his zombie friend in a car.
Overall, it was a decent sequel that fails to live up to the first. The opening scene with Adrian Mellon being murdered was by far the best scene in the film. That scene alone was very intense, brutal, and felt like a good opening to a horror film. Unfortunately, after that, it turns into more of a comedy.