It Chapter Two Movie Review

It Chapter Two (2019)

Rent It Chapter Two on Amazon Video
Written by: Stephen King (based on the novel "It" by), Gary Dauberman (screenplay by)
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Bill Skarsgård
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away but a devastating phone call brings them back.

Verdict
This is a great concept, with adults trying to reconcile their childhood fears, but this is a long movie. The childhood flashbacks make this more than just a supernatural slasher, and while cutting out one character is a good idea, there are still too many characters. There's too much excess. Just a recut that trims this down to one hundred minutes would be a drastic improvement as there are many scenes that are only tangentially related. Some of the best scenes are the small creepy scenes. The big set pieces are impressive but indulgent. In concept it tops the first, but it's a ride that ends too late.
It depends.

Review
I like the concept, and it's a great sequel to chapter 1. It (2017) was a rare example of a good remake. It wasn't just a slasher, developed interesting characters in a coming of age tale that featured a demented clown.

The kids are back and all grown up.

The kids have grown up, but they must confront their childhood fears when Pennywise returns. Of course none of them remember what happened, that's a result of moving away from Derry. A nice narrative device that provides the history of events.

Beverly's introduction is heavy handed, checking all the boxes for an abusive husband.

Once the group is together they each need to face the past for some reason I don't recall. The movie cuts back and forth from present to past and it works well, there's just a lot of characters. While one character doesn't return to Derry, another probably should have been cut, probably Eddie.

The problem with the jumps in time is that this is two movies in one. It's long. Half way in that hasn't felt like a bad thing, but there's still an entire feature to watch.

Beverly and the old lady.

The power in the movie is adults confronting the fears of their past and fears as children. That idea is eschewed for big set pieces. None of the big set piece scenes are as creepy or frightening as the smaller scenes. Beverly's scene from the trailer with the old lady is really well done. I want more scenes like that. There's a couple of scenes with unrelated children to remind us how bad Pennywise is. Those are hit or miss, but with a movie this long they're an unnecessary addition. That or something else should have been cut.

 

I hate to hammer the length, but that is the problem with this movie. It's unfortunate as has great parts, but the success of the first removed a few constraints. Movies rarely get to be this length because it is a turn off. Sometimes the length is justified, but in this case it undoes a lot of what makes this movie work.