It Chapter Two Review
R: Disturbing violent content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language, and some crude sexual material
Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Double Dream, Vertigo Entertainment, Rideback
Runtime: 2 Hours and 49 Minutes
Director: Andy Muschietti | Screenwriter: Gary Dauberman
Cast: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgård
Release Date: September 6, 2019
Ah shIT, here we float again. It seemed like just yesterday the Losers’ Club were just kids in the ‘80s. Now they’re in their 40’s in the year 2016. It’s been 27 years since they all defeated Pennywise, but now he has returned to wreak havoc yet again. It's time for the Losers to assemble and return to Derry, Maine to finish off this demonic clown once and for all. So, let’s get to IT — CHAPTER TWO.
Evil resurfaces in Derry as director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers’ Club in a return to where it all began with IT Chapter Two, the conclusion to the highest-grossing horror film of all time. Twenty-seven years after the Losers’ Club defeated Pennywise, he has returned to terrorize the town of Derry once more. Now adults, the Losers have long since gone their separate ways. However, kids are disappearing again, so Mike, the only one of the group to remain in their hometown, calls the others home. Damaged by the experiences of their past, they must each conquer their deepest fears to destroy Pennywise once and for all… putting them directly in the path of the clown that has become deadlier than ever.
First and foremost, I initially wasn't a fan of IT Chapter One. While it was definitely scary and prospered from great performances by the young ensemble and Bill Skarsgård, the incoherent tone kept taking me out of it. Over the course of time, I warmed up to the film and appreciated it for what it was. Chapter Two is both better and worse than its predecessor, but manages to stay afloat (goddamn it, I didn't purposely deliver that line) as a decent follow-up adaptation to a very unadaptable novel.
To start this off on a positive note: holy crap. Give Rich Delia the casting award ASAP. I know the BAFTAs just introduced a new casting category this year and holy ding darn damn does casting director Rich Delia deserve at least a nomination for bringing this incredible ensemble together. All of the performances across the board are fantastic. Everyone was aware that this two-part story had to absolutely nail casting the adult counterparts for the Losers’ Club and they all bring home the bacon. Besides naturally bearing similar facial features of the young performers who portrayed the teenage version of these characters, each actor captures the cadency and mannerisms of them perfectly. Even though it’s been two years since the first film, it feels like you’ve seen these characters grow in real time. Minus recognizing the faces of some of the A-list talent such as James McAvoy, Bill Hader, and Jessica Chastain, you buy them more as these characters who continue the same camaraderie they had in the predecessor. Jessica Chastain maintains the characteristics of Sophia Lillis’s portrayal of Beverly through the subtle silences stemming from her character’s timidness when she’s around people she’s uncomfortable with, and that tough rebellious edge whenever she’s with her group. James McAvoy does the same with Jaeden Martell’s portrayal of Bill, capturing the character’s determination and speech impediment. James Ransone probably had a field day studying Jack Dylan Grazer in order to capture Eddie’s essence, because he nails his shtick. If you’ve seen other projects Grazer has appeared in, you understand that he has a special knack for delivering lines of dialogue at lightning speed, oftentimes cracking a punchline. He did it in IT Chapter One and Shazam. James Ransone delivers the same exact technique as Grazer through his performance and kills it, often stealing the show. But the major MVP of this movie is the one, the only:
Bill
Effin’
Hader
I thought the praise for his performance in the film's marketing was a bit unexpected, but after watching the movie… damn! There is absolutely nothing this man cannot do. *Stefon voice* his performance has everything: perfectly timed comedy that'll make you laugh out loud, badass moments of violence where he goes half-Barry, beautiful projectile-puking, and a new character arc that is a bit out of left field but leads to an emotionally resonant place that leaves you in tears. Oh yeah, let the Best Supporting Actor campaign begin. I'll be your cheerleader, Hader Boy.
I may be discussing the individual specifications of how great some of the cast is, but the movie is at its best when they're together. The dynamic between the Losers as adults hit as strongly as they did when they were kids. Every time Eddie and Ritchie bounce lines of dialogue off each other, you crack the hell up. Put Bill Hader, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, and James Ransone on a comedy tour and I'll gladly pay for that.
Seeing them interact and band together with the same frenetic energy is when the film is paced well as the scenes between them are often hilarious and fun. It's like reuniting with your squad and capturing that special shared camaraderie all over again. Director Andy Muschietti might specialize in horror, but these IT movies prove that he's great at directing ensembles, making sure each performer delivers on the same common ground without much hierarchy. Nobody is over the top and nobody steps over each other.
Now, while the cast is great and captures the same personalities and cadences of King’s characters, there could've been some updated changes in the characters’ reintroductions that deserved a bit of diversion from the source. They cut out some of King’s unnecessary, gratuitous convolution of story, but managed to leave big elements intact that could've been done in an updated and effective light, such as Beverly getting domestically abused with a belt by her husband Tom Rogen… because, you know, you are what you grew up from. That's literally her introduction scene. Or better yet, there’s also the homophobic hate crime that kicks off the movie in a really fucking uncomfortable manner. Once you see each character do their own thing, you realize they didn’t evolve much at all, for they all must undergo a continued character arc that was already completed in the previous movie, if not a vastly new one that wasn't even hinted at. It's as if writer Gary Dauberman received complaints of how no one else got a massive character arc besides Bill last time around, so this time he made sure EVERYONE got a character arc — even characters who barely showed much of a personality.
Mike has a bigger role in this chapter, yet they still shortchange him into the Nick Fury of the group who assembles the team together and spouts nothing but exposition. He’s the only Black dude in the cast and he’s just a literal afterthought. If Mike was given a larger role in the predecessor, then the audience would've had a prosperous attachment towards him like the rest of the crew, but he doesn't get jack shit. But friggin’ Isiah Mustafah is fantastic whenever he's on screen because he's the only character who actually evolved… evolved by staying in Derry.
One of my major gripes against Chapter One was its inconsistent tone where it was mostly comedic and the horror doesn’t mesh well with the comedy. One second it’s horrifying, the next it’s comedic, but when it’s blended you don’t know how you feel. I warmed up to that film because of the cast and how many terrifying sequences managed to scare the crap out of me. I'll be damned that the inconsistent tonal issues are present here. Like, I understand it’s meant to be campy for a broader appeal, but for some reason going against a bloodthirsty clown who eats children just doesn't do it for me while incorporating comedy. For a good hour the incoherent inclusion of humor didn't hit well aside from a few scenes, one in particular being the buffet reunion scene which balances drama, horror, and comedy all in one set piece. As the film progresses, the tone finally finds its footing during the extensively endless second act where the PTSD and traumatized fears of the Losers’ Club are played for laughs in their sequences of fear and tragedy. It’s fucked up contextually to these characters who have dealt with sexual abuse, loss, rejection, and genuine fears… but somehow it works because you know and empathize with them and their personalities.
Now, in terms of horror, the film is not so scary this time around as Muschietti does his best to bring the disturbing creatures from the novel to life, and for the most part they work. Pennywise paid his dues in the predecessor and now makes guest appearences here and there to merely fuck with the adults rather than wreak terror. I mean, he wreaks terror and still causes graphic mass murders, but he’s not as scary as he used to be. But damn, Bill Skarsgård had the time of his life! He chews up the scenery with each moment he's on screen and he does a fantastic job maintaining as a threat.
So far there has only been ONE movie this year that managed to tell a great story given its near 3-hour length and that was this horror:
Midsommar was a perfectly paced movie that kept you enticed and engaged all the way through with a complex story that felt refreshing and new. IT Chapter Two is the total antithesis of Midsommar as far as complexity and pacing go. Holy crap, this movie feels like it never ends. While incredibly faithful to its source material, there are so many areas that could’ve been left out for the sake of time and cohesiveness of the narrative as a whole. In the movie, Dauberman and Muschietti incorporate flashbacks to the Losers’ Club in their youth shooting the shit, having fun together, and reliving their trauma. While they are artistically transitioned back to the present — whether having characters in the present appear in the setting they remember from their past or super imposing their younger face onto the older actors using great fades — they're excessive and it becomes redundant quickly. This movie has so many flashbacks that it nearly becomes a greatest hits clipshow. It doesn't help how uncannily terrifying it looks when they use de-aging effects on the young cast who you can tell grew out of their looks (thanks, puberty). Seriously, the CG kid faces are more terrifying than the actual creepy faces that appear in the movie. Also, the return of some characters here serve little to no purpose at all. Henry Bowers is back and is out for vengeance to complete Pennywise’s deed, and wow does that go NOWHERE.
Since we get the gist of the characters and the abuse they faced — because IT WAS PRESENT IN THE PREDECESSOR — it all feels so benign. The second act is so repetitive with the same set up of whatever set piece horror sequence, and it's paced so slowly. Like, it’s enticing to see the scenarios the Losers face, but that’s it. After a while it loses its flair due to several unnecessary flashbacks.
IT is enjoyable and entertaining and this is a rather valiant effort. If anything, the film desperately needed the co-writers who wrote the predecessor’s script alongside Gary Dauberman. Its major fault is that the movie is so incohesive… but friggin’ Bill Hader. I shit you not, Bill Hader’s performance is one to watch and raised my rating for me. He actually made me more emotional than I expected while exhibiting loss, fear, regret, and despair all through his performance. This man is a legend and I am in awe of him. As a narrative, no it’s not better than the predecessor, which I initially gave a 2.5 to, but this is more emotionally resonant and more engaging than I expected. Shit. I don't know how to rate IT Chapter Two.
Rating: 3.5/5 |71%
This is for you, Bill! And James! Both of them. You two made me do it!
