POPCORN EMPIRE: IT Chapter 2 - Movie Review

Rating: 7/10 (19 September 2019)

IT: CHAPTER 2 - MOVIE REVIEW
"With more liberal editing and a tighter script, IT: Chapter 2 could have been the masterpiece that it clearly strived to be... 6.5/10
IT: Chapter 2 is the sequel/second half of IT (2017), directed by Andy Muschietti. Adapted from the Stephen King novel, Chapter 2 reaches for an epic conclusion to the story, with mixed results. While it has a lot of laughs and occasionally packs an emotional punch, the film is bloated and overlong. It also commits a cardinal sin of horror films: it's not scary whatsoever.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Taking place 27 years after the events of the first film, Pennywise has returned to Derry, Maine to terrorize the town and feed on the innocent once again. The Loser's Club, now as full grown adults, must team up one last time to stop Pennywise once and for all. The film follows the adults as they reunite in Derry and form a plan to defeat Pennywise, while also drawing connections to events from the first film, as well as some moments we haven't seen before. While this flashback/flash-forward structure mostly works, and helps the audience to follow certain narrative arcs, it begins to feel tedious after a while.
It's important to note that IT: Chapter 2 has some of the strongest casting of any film in recent memory. Not only do the adult counterparts of the Loser's Club bear an uncanny resemblance to the child actors, but they also fully embody the same individual personalities and quirks. The ensemble cast has great chemistry, and they do a fantastic job of selling the humor, the drama, and the heart of the film, even when the odds are against them. Bill Hader brings a majority of the comedic relief, and delivers a lot of levity and fun to many scenes. Bill Skarsg책rd also triumphs once again as Pennywise, with his creepy voice, quirky humor, and that iconic goofy-but-terrifying smile.
The film also has some lovely cinematography and creative use of editing. There are several scene transitions which carry an element from the previous shot into the next, creating surreal effects that give the film a dreamlike quality.
It's a shame that other components of this film don't hold together as well. While the script attempts to tackle some of the mythology and themes of trauma from the book, the results are mixed. Certain character arcs feel more resolved than others, and the film gets sidetracked at times. Henry Bowers is revealed to have become a patient in a mental hospital after the events of the first film. Pennywise helps him to escape, and while he does temporarily throw a wrench in our protagonists' story, this subplot doesn't really go anywhere, coming to an abrupt end when he's suddenly killed by Richie.
The structure of the second act repeats one of the biggest flaws of the first installment, trudging through one lengthy jump-scare sequence after another. These set-pieces generally follow the same structure: a character walks into a building where a past memory took place. They then begin to relive that memory until Pennywise twists it into a nightmare, resulting in some goofy CGI monster which chases the character until they retrieve their "artifact". Some of these sequences are fun, but they could easily be shown in any order since they lack an overarching narrative momentum. The scares are so blatantly telegraphed that they often fall flat. Loud noises are startling and all, but none of these creatures come anywhere close to nightmare fuel.
Once our leads finally have what they need to defeat Pennywise, they journey back into the sewers to perform a ritual to kill Pennywise for good. While the final battle is entertaining, it's also underwhelming considering the lengthy buildup. While it's satisfying to see our heroes defeat Pennywise for good this time, it simply takes too long to get there.
Despite being uneven and needlessly long, IT: Chapter 2 is still entertaining and there's a lot to admire about it. It looks amazing, it's packed with great performances, and it has one of the most intruiging villains in horror history. With more liberal editing and a tighter script, IT: Chapter 2 could have been the masterpiece that it clearly strived to be.
6.5/10