Floating Through Nearly 3 Hours with Decent Story and Fantastic Acting

Rating: 8/10 (6 September 2019)

Two years ago, the relaunch of yet another series started, taking modern day technology and using it to put a new face on it. Stephen King's legendary book titled IT came back in a new light that felt like a Stranger Things Episode with a little more demented/horror element added to it. When the ending came and the credits finished, the promise of part 2 lingered in red, setting the stage for the second act of the book. Two years later, the adventure arrives and the question is... will the movie live up to the potential or are we waiting for nothing. Robbie K coming in for another review of the latest film to hit the theater, hoping to give you some spoiler free insight on the film. So let's get set as we look into:
Movie: It: Chapter 2
Director:
Andy Muschietti
Writers:
Gary Dauberman (screenplay by), Stephen King (based on the novel by)
Stars:
Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader
LIKES:
The Story Components
The Terrifying Forms
Decent Pace
Creep Factor
References
Acting
DISLIKES:
Not Scary For Me
Plot Presentation At points
The Length Of The Film
The Stepped-Up Game
The Over Use of Cursing at Times
The Assistant
SUMMARY:
The genius of the film is that although a sequel it's also a stand-alone film that manages to take the tale in a new light. Chapter 2, at least this version, manages to make a multilayered story that holds part horror and part soul searching as our characters developed. In a decently compact way, It 2 accomplishes the task of bridging the 27-year gap and keeping to the horror element all why pushing some heavy political issues and moral tasking topics in a classy way. Not just a drama, the horror element still stands true in this film and Pennywise's new tactics are a step up in the form of nightmare motivating images that will stay in minds for a long time. Not the most realistic at times, IT's new forms for the most part have enough skin tingling factor to them to make some squirm in their seats, especially given how they made Pennywise a much bigger threat than I anticipated. A small subtle component that I quite enjoy are the small references to the book or popular phrases about the book. It's nice balanced humor and a clever ploy to sort of justify the decisions made in this film in regards to changing the story, which gets a nod of respect from this reviewer. Hands down though, the best part is acting, which I can go on for hours about. All the adult forms mirror the kids in many qualms, take the baseline characteristics and maximize them, and play off of each other so well that I can't help but praise the casting direction. As for the clown himself, Bill SkarsgÃ¥rd again redeems his role as Pennywise and takes the nightmare amalgam worthy as a legendary villain. He manages to add new levels of creepiness without trying too hard, achieving that skin crawling factor to new levels.
In regards of areas that are still working on improving for me, well the film did not quite scare me like I was hoping. Again, I'm used to much of the scare tactics, but It Chapter 2's use of computer effects and other designs did not quite scare me as much as disturb me at times (that scene at the Chinese restaurant). In addition the stepped-up game of Pennywise sometimes crossed levels that I wasn't a fan of, primarily in some of the more torturous aspects that this film took. Those that have a low tolerance for dragged out beatings or torture may want to avert their eyes at these points. In regards to the plot much of the overall arc is wonderful, but the presentation at times comes off a little more convoluted than I had hoped. During the middle of the film the constant intertwining of past and present did not quite make sense to me, until the end when the explanation came. Not that it was not entertaining at times, I felt this approach sort of added fluff to the movie, almost as this was a director's cut. This brings me to the length of the film, while certainly not the slowest movie (Midsommar anyone), the nearly three hour run time did not quite feel necessary given that the first part was nearly an hour shorter. Again it is entertaining for the most part, but it's a commitment I don't think was quite needed. A small nuance again for most, the cursing sometimes goes down the avenues of being lazy writing, primarily in the overuse of the F bomb when there were better lines that the first film capitalized on. My biggest beef is the assistant to the mad clown, to which I don't want to ruin. A concept that starts to hold potential, the assistant is a wasted character in my eyes that serves for only a little bit of plot development and a few comedy moments. So much could have been done with this character, but I think the squad found this character the one to cut out most of in favor of the other focus points of the film.
The VERDICT:
Wrapping this up, two years gave the movie enough time to make a horror movie that is familiar, yet has enough flair to be its own. Sticking to horror roots, the movie focuses on the story and does a nice job integrating most characters into the film. It may not be scary to me, but Pennywise is still creepy and has upped his danger level with new forms and references that should have fans smiling. Yet it's the acting that holds the key to success and brings the movie to levels that are super entertaining and deep compared to most horror genre casts. Still, the movie is a little long winded, with a convoluted presentation at times that adds a little length, and a character that felt like a waste. Otherwise, a semi-cheesy ending and some darker tactics are the only things that really didn't impress me. The summary though is that this film is definitely a worthy edition to the horror genre, and I believe it's worth checking out in theaters. My scores are:
Horror: 8.0
Movie Overall: 8.0