It Chapter Two (C or 2/4 stars)
'It Chapter Two' (directed by Andy Muschietti) is the follow-up to the wildly successful It from 2017; both movies are based on Stephen King's popular novel. I kinda sorta dug that '17 film, but this one did not cut it for me. More on that later.
27 yrs. have passed since the events of It when the "Losers Club" - Bill (Jaeden Martell), whose little brother Georgie was one of the clown's victims {horrifying scene!}; Beverly (Sophia Lillis), whose father abuses her; Mike (Chosen Jacobs), an orphan; Richie (Finn Wolfhard), an asthmatic hypochondriac; Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), bullied for being chubby; Stanley (Wyatt Oleff), who was freaked out by an eerie vision in his rabbi father's painting; & motor-mouthed mama's boy Eddie (Jack Dylan Graer) - discovered that a supernatural entity known as It {usually taking the guise of Pennywise the Clown} was responsible for the gruesome deaths of the children of Derry, Maine. After many trials, they put aside their fears aside {which Pennywise thrives on} & defeated "It".
Unfortunately for our protagonists, Pennywise (deliciously demented Bill Skarsgard) has returned to wreak havoc on the town; the 1st body he devours is the victim of a vicious hate-crime attack on a gay couple (Xavier Dolan, Taylor Frey) at a carnival. And so, grown-up Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), reaches out to the others so they can fulfill their pledge to return to Derry if ever "It" returned. Their individual reactions range from confusion to upchucking ... to suicide. Beverly (Jessica Chastain), having left an abusive marriage; Bill (James McAvoy), a successful author-turned-screenwriter; Richie (Bill Hader), a stand-up comic; Ben (Jay Ryan), a no-longer-chubby architect; & Eddie (James Ransone; his bickering with Hader is great), a risk analyst ... have all put their lives on hold - and at RISK - to return home. After locating specific talismans to be used in a ritual, the grown-up "Losers" must face their individual fears & stick together in a vital attempt to subdue "It" for good. Utter chaos ensues.
Not knowing the source material going into 2017's It, I was taken aback by the supernatural component of the story. That said, THIS film ups the supernatural component by 200% and ... I just was not a fan of it. Fans of the source material obviously love it. I have nothing against supernatural stories. But the 2017 film was more self-contained in its supernaturality. Characterizations were richer. And everything flowed in an organically 'horror film' way that was enjoyable to me & the masses around the world. But at an exorbitant & snoozy 169 running time, the story contains too many boring/talky stretches, A LOT of the happenstance is a re-tread from the 1st film, & the goings-on during the hysteria-drenched climax are ridiculous.
Though I love actors such a James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain & Bill Hader ... the adult versions of the characters simply aren't as interesting as their child counterparts. Whenever the story flips to 1989 flashback mode - which is often - we engage with those kids and, when it flips back to the adults, it's all a big womp-womp. The material they are given just didn't cut it; no matter how hard our thespians tried to convey authenticity within the hokum plot.
Another issue I have with this film? IT ISN'T SCARY. Sure, Pennywise is creepy as Hell. He kills several people. There are things that go bang. And there are buckets of gore. But I wasn't scared; certainly not by a series of animalistic monsters that pepper the screen. In fact, almost every big "scare" was met with roars of laughter from my audience whether the laughs were intentional or not. No one was terrified. And by the time a tremendous {and eventually, miniature}, multi-legged clown is chasing the adults around the same cavernous milieu as the climax of the LAST film ... I was ready to be put out of MY misery. The spectacle of this film overwhelmed any legitimate terror or scares that were thrown at the screen from the get-go.
Now, I think a few of the 'adults facing their fear while trying to attain their talisman' sequences are a blast. I dug some of the off-the-wall Funhouse of Horrors portions. Themes of memory, trauma & healing are apparent. And a lot of the ghoulish practical special effects & creature make-up work is astounding. But 'It Chapter Two' lacks the nerve-rattling scares & winsome simplicity of the 2017 flick. It's an inventive, if unwieldy mess full of tonal vacillations & narrative detours where there is little rhyme, reason or rules for what occurs in this film's universe. And there's no reason for this marathon film to have clocked in past the 2 hour mark.
27 yrs. have passed since the events of It when the "Losers Club" - Bill (Jaeden Martell), whose little brother Georgie was one of the clown's victims {horrifying scene!}; Beverly (Sophia Lillis), whose father abuses her; Mike (Chosen Jacobs), an orphan; Richie (Finn Wolfhard), an asthmatic hypochondriac; Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), bullied for being chubby; Stanley (Wyatt Oleff), who was freaked out by an eerie vision in his rabbi father's painting; & motor-mouthed mama's boy Eddie (Jack Dylan Graer) - discovered that a supernatural entity known as It {usually taking the guise of Pennywise the Clown} was responsible for the gruesome deaths of the children of Derry, Maine. After many trials, they put aside their fears aside {which Pennywise thrives on} & defeated "It".
Unfortunately for our protagonists, Pennywise (deliciously demented Bill Skarsgard) has returned to wreak havoc on the town; the 1st body he devours is the victim of a vicious hate-crime attack on a gay couple (Xavier Dolan, Taylor Frey) at a carnival. And so, grown-up Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), reaches out to the others so they can fulfill their pledge to return to Derry if ever "It" returned. Their individual reactions range from confusion to upchucking ... to suicide. Beverly (Jessica Chastain), having left an abusive marriage; Bill (James McAvoy), a successful author-turned-screenwriter; Richie (Bill Hader), a stand-up comic; Ben (Jay Ryan), a no-longer-chubby architect; & Eddie (James Ransone; his bickering with Hader is great), a risk analyst ... have all put their lives on hold - and at RISK - to return home. After locating specific talismans to be used in a ritual, the grown-up "Losers" must face their individual fears & stick together in a vital attempt to subdue "It" for good. Utter chaos ensues.
Not knowing the source material going into 2017's It, I was taken aback by the supernatural component of the story. That said, THIS film ups the supernatural component by 200% and ... I just was not a fan of it. Fans of the source material obviously love it. I have nothing against supernatural stories. But the 2017 film was more self-contained in its supernaturality. Characterizations were richer. And everything flowed in an organically 'horror film' way that was enjoyable to me & the masses around the world. But at an exorbitant & snoozy 169 running time, the story contains too many boring/talky stretches, A LOT of the happenstance is a re-tread from the 1st film, & the goings-on during the hysteria-drenched climax are ridiculous.
Though I love actors such a James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain & Bill Hader ... the adult versions of the characters simply aren't as interesting as their child counterparts. Whenever the story flips to 1989 flashback mode - which is often - we engage with those kids and, when it flips back to the adults, it's all a big womp-womp. The material they are given just didn't cut it; no matter how hard our thespians tried to convey authenticity within the hokum plot.
Another issue I have with this film? IT ISN'T SCARY. Sure, Pennywise is creepy as Hell. He kills several people. There are things that go bang. And there are buckets of gore. But I wasn't scared; certainly not by a series of animalistic monsters that pepper the screen. In fact, almost every big "scare" was met with roars of laughter from my audience whether the laughs were intentional or not. No one was terrified. And by the time a tremendous {and eventually, miniature}, multi-legged clown is chasing the adults around the same cavernous milieu as the climax of the LAST film ... I was ready to be put out of MY misery. The spectacle of this film overwhelmed any legitimate terror or scares that were thrown at the screen from the get-go.
Now, I think a few of the 'adults facing their fear while trying to attain their talisman' sequences are a blast. I dug some of the off-the-wall Funhouse of Horrors portions. Themes of memory, trauma & healing are apparent. And a lot of the ghoulish practical special effects & creature make-up work is astounding. But 'It Chapter Two' lacks the nerve-rattling scares & winsome simplicity of the 2017 flick. It's an inventive, if unwieldy mess full of tonal vacillations & narrative detours where there is little rhyme, reason or rules for what occurs in this film's universe. And there's no reason for this marathon film to have clocked in past the 2 hour mark.