My Thoughts on It: Chapter 2

I have a lot of history with the screen adaptations of It. The 1990 miniseries was the scariest thing I'd ever seen as a kid, and I was in total and utter fear of Pennywise. Of course, when I went back and revisited it, I realised that that version is hilariously awful, and not at all scary (all of the voices that Tim Curry could have used for Pennywise... and that's the one he went with?). By the time the 2017 update of It was announced, I was older, (penny)wiser and a serious horror head, so the thought of an It that could be genuinely scary was a very exciting one indeed, especially when we got those fantastic trailers. And the 2017 It was.... good? Bill Skarsgard's take on Pennywise was certainly fantastic, as were the performances from the kid actors. Everything else wasn't bad, but was far from great. The scares were weak, the plot was fairly standard and the performances, save for the ones I just mentioned, weren't great. So yeah, as a movie, I thought that it was pretty unremarkable. But hey, it's a story of two parts, right? Maybe its just coming into it's own? Maybe it's going to take it's time and tell the story the way it was supposed to be to-

Wait, it's HOW long?

More on the (almost) three hour runtime later, but It: Chapter Two was a film that had an awful lot to do. I mean the first film was just an introduction, a largely fun romp that got the audience acquainted to the world of the story without having to say or do much else. I mean, the first one could get away with just being largely self-contained, apart from the ending, which does a good job of setting up a sequel. This film had to conclude the (now much larger) story, address the origins of Pennywise and be a good movie in its own right. That was always going to be hard to do, especially when this film lacks the element of surprise that made the first one so effective. It 2017 came pretty much out of nowhere and was an effective reimagining because it rewrote everything we knew about this story onscreen. So yeah, there was more pressure on this one, because it now had to provide a satisfying ending to the highest grossing horror movie of all time. Does it do that? Let's find out!

The story this time around is that, 27 years after the first film, Pennywise is up to his old tricks again. This calls for the Loser Club to team up once more and put a stop to him once and for all. This is the kind of film that starts with its casting. So much hinges on whether or not you believe that these people were the kids in the first film, and for the most part, you do. Bill Hader and James Ransone are the two highlights here, not just feeling like organically aged up versions of Finn Wolfhard and Jack Dylan Grazer, but also effortlessly recreating their chemistry, something that comes back in a BIG way in the climax. The others are also pretty good, with Jessica Chastain, Jay Ryan, Isaiah Mustafa and Andy Bean all bringing the adult versions of their characters to life, even if none of them are quite as believable as Ransone and Hader. As for James McAvoy, he's kind of the weakest link. He definitely commits to the more intense scenes (the hall of mirrors in particular), but outside of those, he's weirdly absent. It's odd, as central as Bill is to this story, it never feels like McAvoy is giving 100%, and for the most of the movie, he's just.... there. It's a real shame too, because it feels like his scenes lose so much as a result. A particular example of this is in a bizarre scene in an antiques shop that features a cameo that, although I won't spoil it, is far and away the worst scene in the movie.

 Actually, quick tangent: what were they going for in that scene? It's already fairly obvious what role Bill plays in the story, especially if you're familiar with the book, but the way this scene references it is so weird and out of place. It's an awkward moment that only really exists to nod at the audience, and is the oddest possible payoff for the role that he plays in the story. They kind of make the point from the moment you realise he's a writer, so they kind of didn't need to bring it back, especially not in a way that's this.... odd. Okay, tangent over

So yeah, the cast is pretty solid overall, but my god does the plot have some issues.
it's weird, because the individual setpieces themselves are actually great. When the film gets into the swing of things, it's huge amounts of fun. Watching the Losers confront Pennywise one by one is a delight, and the episodic nature of the film's midsection allows It 2 (Itwo? Let's just call it Itwo) to cut loose a little, unleashing wild delights the likes of which you don't often see in a film like this. The scenes that check in on Pennywise and see what he's up to (turns out he's terrorizing the townfolk, who'd have guessed?) are fun as well, playing up the off-kilter creepiness of Skarsgaard's make-up clad madman. So yeah, that part is definitely engaging, but did it have to take so long to get going? The three hour runtime is a huge problem (literally). I'm sorry, but it didn't need to be this long, and if it wasn't for the incredibly entertaining chunk in the middle, this'd be an absolute deal-breaker. The beginning isn't bad or anything, it takes a fair bit of time to heat up but it's not distractingly long. No, no, my problem is in the climax. Much like John Wick 3, Itwo suffers from a visually quite cool but deathly overlong climax. I get what they were going for, but it just drags on, resulting in an action setpiece which isn't scary, or even especially interesting. It has it's moments (one in particular is devastating), but overall, I really, really, REALLY didn't care after a while. The ending is an awkward one, something only emphasised by the length of the third act. No, this movie is at it's best when it's providing horror vignettes that prey on the Losers' darkest fears. Hell, even Pennywise's musical number is freaking awesome. The film isn't able to keep that going though, and runs out of steam in it's home stretch, which sees Pennywise unleash his full powers, to mildly impressive effect. It's not an especially exciting climax, and to be honest, it's kind of a let down, taking everything that made Pennywise so scary and wasting it. Just like the first one, Itwo is at its best when it's small-scale, nearly episodic, focusing on the real fear in the story., and kind of fall apart when they become big blockbuster horror movies. And yeah, yeah, I know that it's the story of the book, and that does get pretty large, but Andy Muschietti just nails the creepiness, and slips up a little when it comes to expanding on that.

  It's a shame because he really does create these amazing singular setpieces that just work. These are the scenes that make Itwo worth it, especially when it's clear that Skarsgaard is having an absolute ball. His Pennywise is again a vicious creation, especially this time around, both because he's feeding off the deep-seated adult fears of the grown-up Losers, and because he's pissed, fully intent on making these guys' lives a living hell. That he's able to portray such deep malice and rage while also being a blast to watch is the strange power of Skarsgaard's performance, and it's something that the sequel actually improves on from the first one. This incarnation of Pennywise has rightly become a staple of modern pop culture, almost like the face of this decade of horror films. Not that I think that either of these films are the best horror films of the decade, not even close, but I think that Skarsgaard's Pennywise has floated his way into the pantheon, giving this generation a painted face to add to the horror villain hall-of-fame. And this film definitely honours that. Regardless of how you feel about it, it can't be denied that this film effectively honours the impact that this story has had on modern popular cinema. Hell, I'm completely lukewarm on these movies, and even I find that totally admirable.

This is blockbuster horror, the kind that isn't looking to be properly disturbing or even make you think all that much, instead wanting to wow the audience with flashy setpieces and big moments. On that front, Itwo is a total success, because when it's entertaining, it's incredibly so. There are lots of large scale, memorable moments that have already become iconic, and that's kind of what this movie was going for. It's not scale without substance, because there is a genuine enthusiasm for the story and a devotion from everyone involved to honour it, but the bigger it gets, the more it loses what makes it really work. True, those big, CGI-y moments absolutely wow on a big screen with a large audience, but the movie really works when it skews smaller. My ultimate verdict is that it's fine: pure pop-culture flashiness that has moments of genuine quality but all too often goes for the showy setpiece. Funny thing is, it was never going to be any other way, so I can't really say I was massively disappointed. Itwo is exactly what you think it's going to be, and how much you enjoy it will depend on how much you've put into this story. Even given my history with the various incarnations, It has never been a story that's impressed me too much, so maybe that colours my judgement, but for the people who are into it, this is a good time. Personally though, I'll seek my Stephen King fix elsewhere, because the Doctor Sleep hypetrain is leaving the station very soon....