Teeter-Totters on what is "Good" and "Bad"

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 2019)

So this title had many things going for it, some good and some bad, and I guess I'll just make a pro's and cons list to spell it out:
Pros:
1. Opening Scene. Truly well done, it was uncomfortable and sad to watch with the gay couple being beaten, but matches how the original book started incredibly well, and really got the ball rolling for the film. It excited me on what I may have started to watch.
2. Casting. I was most impressed with the casting of Jack Dylan Grazier and James Ransone who both played Eddie, it was uncanny how I thought they resembled each other well, and even at one point went on here to double check if they were father and son.
3. The Message. It leaves you feeling peaceful with themes and imagery about childhood: it's fears, its joys and sorrows, growing up, recovering from trauma, and how it still affects us to this day whether we can face it or not. But the important thing to remember was about not being alone when we feel like it.
4. Bill SkarsgÃ¥rd is an amazing Pennywise.
5. More info behind Pennywise. Its been awhile since I've read the book, and can't find time to make the commitment of rereading it anytime soon, but one thing I was frustrated with was how it never felt like there was an explanation behind Pennywise: what was it exactly and where did it come from? There was no myth or lore behind him (at least from what I remember in the book), so this movie introducing more behind that was something that I appreciated.
6. The Final showdown. Honestly, I liked the movie version better. Pennywise's final form was a letdown in all honesty, but the ending in the book felt so out there and just plain weird, like wtf was Stephen smoking when he wrote that?)
7. Surprise Cameo. Can't say who, but it was an absolutely delightful surprise to see who it was, I'm so glad I wasn't spoiled on it!
Cons:
1. Way too much CGI was relied on. This is a continuing issue with a lot of big budget films (ironically), and I seriously wish we could go back to when studios spent more on special effects and relied on makeup, because except for Pennywise, a lot of the special effects felt so cheapened with the reliance of disturbing images and/or sequences that are in abundance in this film. Not to mention was mainly used for jump scares, which brings me to my next point...
2. Way too many jump scares. The middle part really slowed the whole film when the main cast does the one big no-no of horror: they split up. Sure, they had to go find their tokens throughout town and have Pennywise try and terrify them into submission, but at the base of those scenes, it was mainly disturbing images and jump scares that fueled them, and it got repetitive.
3. Bowers Character. His whole appearance felt cheapened and dramatically made less important than what he was in the book.
4. This movie tried to be too funny. Thanks Bill Hader...Some parts got a chuckle but some felt pretty forced and pretty mehh.
5. Another reviewer said this too, but Stan's letter's at the end tried to justify his death by making it seem like a noble sacrifice to try and bring them all together again, but that's not the case. He committed suicide because he was too afraid to go back and face his past trauma's. thats it. it represents how sometimes digging into our pasts and confronting our past traumas, fears, whatever happened that has affected us even years later is too hard for some people, and it's a sad but realistic factor of the human condition, so the letters felt like they'd backed off from the harsh reality.
6. The scene of them walking through the town with the blue filter to make it look like it was night/just before sunrise. It literally looked like it was filmed during the day and they placed a terrible blue filter over it. Could've had better editing there...
I did overall enjoy the film for the most part; out of a lot of horror films, I can appreciate the story behind it and the positive message it tries to tell people at the end. Does it deserve the award of best horror film ever? Hell no...But maybe in another 27 years, they'll absolutely nail it!