Better when rewatched

Rating: 10/10 (11 April 2020)

A second time viewing Chapter 2. What can I say? I love it. It along with Halloween are my favorite horror franchises. They were the first horror movies I've seen as a kid in the 90s. Initially I felt like Chapter 2 was the weakest in the franchise but it has grown on me. I think you can like all the parts for different reasons.
Initially I didn't like the long runtime. 3 hours for movies was popular in 2019. I sometimes feel a movie takes itself too seriously and it makes me not really want to watch it. However as a fan of IT it's actually a treat. You get more time to enjoy the movie. Also it's different watching it at home than in the theater when it first came out. You can split this up in two viewings. This is actually enjoyable as it feels like you're watching 2 movies for the price of 1.
I also initially wasn't really impressed with the story. A criticism of the 1990 It was that the first part with the kids was better than with the adults, because their bond felt more natural. Because I wasn't really in the mood for this movie also because because back then I felt the 1990 version is superior, I wasn't really locked into the story. The chemistry is actually terrific in this version. The Losers Club have that special bond that made It 1990 a classic. A group of abandoned people must fight darkness and only have a small group of true friends to help them. That has always been the heart of It. Even though it's 27 years later the Losers Club are still as close as ever. This is the result of good acting and good writing. With almost 3 hours worth of movie a lot of time is spend giving the characters depth.
What I also liked is the humor. This is criticized but I liked it. A bit of comic relief made the friendship feel more genuine but also because it's a movie after all so a bit of comedy never hurts it.
Lastly Pennywise was terrifying in this one. Always the menacing presence that somehow always seem to be present. I liked how there's different scenes with Pennywise than the 1990 version. There were some parts that are familiar but overall it was a fresh story.
A very entertaining and solid sequel and I'm sure more fans will appreciate it more as time goes by.