If You Only Want To Be Entertained Then Go

Rating: 2/10 (8 September 2019)

On the eve of seeing this, yet another sequel, I pondered as to the logic behind 169 minutes. No horror movie has ever required that amount of time to get its story across and this one shouldn't have either.
SPOILER ALERT
Like the title says, if you only want to be entertained with scary scenes and the redundant CGI that carried the first one (I rate the first one higher, btw), then, by all means, have at it. But I can't get by the time invested only to be rewarded with a weak story, an almost carbon copy to the first and over-the-top CGI and scary scenes in an attempt to top the first movie.
The writers threw anything and everything at the viewer because they simply could. With a story so weak, clouded by fluff, one hour in, I began to realize that the first act wasn't even necessary. Penny-wise returns. Let's call everyone and draw out where every adult is now, after instructing them to return to Derry. After we complete that immensely painful intro, let's take them, once again through their childhood memory and ultimate fear, one at a time. THIS IS WHERE THE MOVIE SHOULD HAVE STARTED!! This is your first act! You could have started here and resulted with the same conclusion and saved us at least 45 minutes bringing the movie down to an appropriate two hours.
Now, getting to all the weaknesses. First off, the LGBTQ community should have nothing to complain about after the opening scene of two gay men being the catalyst that launches Pennywise's return. And why did the clown return? What happened in 27 years to have the clown return NOW. Not even a conjuring by reading evil script was used to create this, as cliche as that would have been. At least it would have been something.
No character arcs to speak of. Bev had an abusive marriage. Okay. That's terrible. End of story. Ritchie had the worst kept secret in the whole movie that he loved Eddie, but yet the movie did nothing to move that subplot. And WHY, why was the psychotic kid, who escaped from the asylum in the movie? He accomplished nothing, absolutely nothing. He came, he stabbed, he died. And Stan, who just couldn't cut it. We see him commit suicide, then the ending is a cop-out tell, don't show moral of the story in the form of "not a suicide note" that rambled on and on. Twice, I got up from my seat to leave, only to be forced back down with more monologue from the grave. Oh and the moral of story? Still? We're all losers. Great message, again!
And now the ending. Sigh. After everything that happened, two plus hours of waiting, what is the solution? Let's talk the clown down to baby size("You're nothing but a clown! You clown you. Stupid clown") , rip his heart out and collectively squeeze it to death. Are you kidding me? Did I just sit through this tale of redundancy to be rewarded with that?
I don't mind being entertained but entertain me with some originality with a decent story. In a perfect world, I want a unique script with great characters, taking a great story and driving it forward to a creative conclusion. But, like Billy's book from the movie, the ending was terrible... and so was the beginning... and middle.
Two stars out of ten, one for the "I" and one for the "T".