IT: CHAPTER TWO... IT's pointless

Rating: 5/10 (8 September 2019)

When my friends and I saw that the prior film was the first portion of a two-part story we were captivated to continue the journey, just with a different cinema experience after an awful one. Most of my friends returned for the sequel and we had another annoying cinema experience.
*SMALL RANT*
If you want to text or have your phone out during your time at the cinema, don't come. Think about the people surrounding you for a change as we have come to the cinema to have a pleasurable experience and not worry about whose messaging you or not.
Anyway It: Chapter Two.
So, let's see how it is...
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POSITIVES!
There is no question that the adult casting for these characters was spot on! There is an array of talent assembled here for this project and everyone does their best job at establishing these characters as adults with their performances and, especially, looks. Most of the actors shared satisfactory chemistry with each other, with the dinner scene being the best example of that interaction. I'm a massive fan of Bill Hader so he was defiantly the standout for me. A lot of audiences were worried about his acting ability going in, and critics seem to be impressed with his performance. I had faith in Hader from the start since I'm a big fan of the HBO series Barry. The film itself has wonderful cinematography which continues that unnerving atmosphere that Muschietti establish in the prior film. And the sets and locations are all well designed with a lot of practical elements that were greatly appreciated.
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MIXED!
While it's enjoyable to revisit this enticing narrative, the actual plot of the film has a more action/adventure movie flavour to it without a great deal of action taking place. This makes the film seem less like a genuine horror film and more like an event. And the design of Pennywise the Clown I'm still varied on, since I'm under the impression that Pennywise is a form IT takes to lure its victims. Doesn't change the fact that it's still an impressive and eerie design.
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NEGATIVES!
This script feels awfully vacant with a lot of filler and slow pacing. The film isn't scary. It has mostly jump scares and not enough of that uncanny sensation that the prior film included. The second act is so rinse and repeat, with the flashbacks and scares, that it becomes tremendously predictable. There are setups with no significant pay off, so much so that they could be erased from the film. And there are components of the script that could've been better explained and/or adapted. And the climax of the third act is so incredibly tacky that it feels like an ending from Goosebumps with a cheesy message of togetherness and overpowering a tormenter. Lastly, with the script, is character. While we have the prior film to understand what these characters WERE like, there's no strong depiction of how these characters are as adults. There are some things that are settled, but not enough. The film just jumps straight in without a significant or defined setup. Moments and components of the first film, that I didn't agree with, are here as well and that's in the editing. Segments from the trailers were so powerful that I couldn't wait to see them on the big screen, but they're ruined when the editors would distort the image or sound. With the child actors, they had to be digitally de-aged and had to sound younger with ADR. It was incredibly distracting if you were aware of these elements going in. The visual effects were a step up from the CGI of the first, but still weren't completely solid. And the overall enjoyment of the film was weird since I was laughing and enjoying other workings, but the horror elements just weren't around enough to enjoy that genre.
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In the end, It: Chapter Two wasn't on the same level as the prior film, which has gone down in my enjoyment and rewatchability. This film is going to go down a lot faster with the script that this sequel offered. So unbalanced and vacant with its narrative and character. Perhaps in a double-feature event, audiences would feel differently, but I'm unsure of that impression.