IT: Chapter 2 Review

 

IT: Chapter 2 Mini-Review/Reaction 

I’m going to keep this review short, because I don’t want to spoil too much, and I know anyone who saw Chapter 1 and enjoyed it is likely going to see Chapter 2 anyway. I almost wasn’t going to review it, but since I’ve reviewed the first one (and basically every other Stephen King movie ever made) I should give my two cents. 

While I enjoyed IT: Chapter 2 for the most part, I was rather disappointed. This thing clocks in at just under three hours, so it’s not too surprising that it has some pacing issues. One of my biggest complaints was the reliance on flashbacks using the kid actors from Chapter 1. While it was enjoyable to see them return, it felt distracting from the present-day story with the adult characters. I know it flashes back and forth in the books, but most of the kid scenes here were like padding, included merely because of the success of the first movie, and didn’t generate much forward momentum for the story, or any significant scares. 

A big change from before is a greater focus on comedy. In the case of the character Richie, I didn’t mind that he was always cracking jokes and making light of their situation, it’s the nature of his character. What I didn’t like was that basically every character has at least one “funny” moment, if not multiple ones, and even the editing at times is purposefully comedic. This broader comedy might work for some viewers, but I found it mostly annoying, especially when it clashed with the horror. 

My favourite part without a doubt was a surprise cameo that I won’t spoil, but other things I liked include the adult cast, some of the visuals, the music once again, and the craziness toward the end. Every actor chosen to play the grownup kids was perfect, and they mostly all give good performances. Pennywise is great again (though lacking in scenes), and there are some interesting creepy moments. Unfortunately, in comparison to Chapter 1, Chapter 2 is lacking in quality scares. There’s too much cgi, too many silly-looking monster designs, and one particular reference/homage to The Thing that is way too blatant. 

IT: Chapter 2 was an overall decent ending, but certainly not as good as it could have been. My expectations were a bit higher than with the first one, which may have had some effect. It just felt like they tried to do too much, when they should have honed in on the good stuff and tried to make a scarier movie than the first, which it certainly is not.