It Chapter Two Review

September 5, 2019 at 4:25am
By Jason Stettner

It has been twenty-seven years since the Losers Club faced off against the menacing Pennywise. Time has passed, they’ve forgotten their history and are drawn back to where it all began through a chilling phone call. They need to revisit that shocking summer of their youth, and some of the specific terror that they witnessed. This is how they’ll collect an essential item in their quest to take on Pennywise once again. It’s an interesting setup as we get additional moments from the younger version of the Losers Club, with direct comparisons to the adults that are center stage.

This is a really well rounded cast of characters, and the mix of young with old works very well. They blend it together in a satisfying way, with each character having some solid development through. That being said, this was rather excessive in length and it does begin to drag. The narrative was generally strong here, with some impactful moments as the group deals with their trauma. The story was clever in how it connected to the first movie, and also strange as they take things to weird places.

I don’t mind that aspect, I was just expecting some more horror. It was essentially just a comedy, I wasn’t scared at all. There wasn’t a moment of scares, and with this being a horror film it should have brought some chills. I’m not sure if it was the excellent casting choices, or just how this was written, it was actually hilarious. A good thing, if this was a comedy. There are some solid quips, lots of jokes and even the clown wasn’t very scary this time around. Every monstrous scene had some sort of laugh or joke attached to it.

This was extremely well shot, with some stunning scenes and moments littered throughout. I was very impressed by the use of the young characters mixing into the old ones during many scenes. There was always a lot going on, and it largely looked great. I did find some of the digital effects for Pennywise to look a tad too fake at times.

It didn’t seem right during certain moments and was almost comical there as well. Mostly during some of the stretching scenes. That aside, the monstrous creatures looked fantastic. Many of them were grotesque and disgusting, which is how it should be. I felt that Bill Hader’s Richie Tozier was a standout here, despite this being one stacked cast. That aside, generally great performances that emulated the younger actors very well.

The Conclusion

It Chapter Two is alright, it ditches the horror entirely for laughs and is a tad too long. I thought the characters were presented perfectly here, there’s a neat transition as they deal with a return to their small home town. Pennywise is on brand, but not as menacing which is disappointing. The first film definitely had some laughs, but there was more of a terror element at play then. This leans into the laughs too much.

It was an enjoyable journey, but one that was a tad long that felt as though things were stretched out towards the end. In combination with the first film these two work really well together. They wrap everything up, and lean on each other quite a lot. I would certainly suggest viewing the first part prior to watching this one. If you arrive fresh you will likely feel a bit lost as to what happened prior, but I suppose it wouldn’t be too hard to jump in here. You just won’t have as strong of a connection to the characters in the story.

It Chapter Two Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Warner Brothers

Rating Overall: 6.5