'It Chapter Two' Review

Synopsis: In the sleepy town of Derry, the evil clown Pennywise returns 27 years later to torment the grown-up members of the Losers' Club, who have long since drifted apart from one another.

Runtime: 169 minutes

MPAA Rating: R (for disturbing violent content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language, and some crude sexual material)

Who should see it? Adult fans of Stephen King and It (2017).

Directed by Andy Muschietti and penned by Gary Dauberman, It Chapter 2 adapts the remainder of Stephen King's beloved best-selling novel. Often, book fans are disheartened to discover specific scenes lost in the transition to the big screen. Well, fans of the source material will surely be delighted to learn It Chapter 2 is two hours and forty-nine minutes long. Though I haven't read the novel myself, I imagine It Chapter 2 is a faithful adaptation by virtue of its lengthy runtime. Not to mention, the added benefit of splitting the book into two movies. However, a film's running time can feasibly make-or-break the storytelling on display. In this case, It Chapter 2 felt drawn out and overstuffed.

Burdened by an over-reliance on flashbacks, It Chapter 2 must contend with advancing the present-day plot while "The Losers Club" confront their past trauma. The flashbacks are necessary to fill in gaps from its predecessor and inform the adult Losers' emotional response to their surroundings, but they derail the story's pace substantially. I suppose the filmmakers were reluctant to trim out the glut and hone in on a more focused narrative, but several scenes could have been abbreviated. Muschietti and company seem interested in delivering the most faithful adaptation possible, and though the ambition is admirable, a more economical use of screen time was achievable. On a brighter note, transitions between past and present were quite impressive, so hats off to editor Jason Ballantine for a job well done.

To take a detour from drawbacks, I appreciate the well-intentioned efforts of all involved. The cinematography, production design, and score effectively blend to establish a creepy atmosphere that the film scarcely abandons. Like the first, there are some cheap jump scares and I'd be reluctant to classify the onscreen events as "scary" (though horror's subjective). And also akin to its predecessor, It Chapter 2 is at its best when focused on "The Losers Club."

The teen and adult incarnations of "The Losers" are portrayed well by their respective casts. Depicting the middle-aged "Losers," Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, and Andy Bean channel their striking characteristics to great effect. They're so well-cast that you conceivably envision the younger "Losers" maturing into them. Chastain, McAvoy, and Hader are notable stand-outs while the lesser-known cast members also demonstrate solid acting chops. Mustafa and Bean noticeably have less screen time as Mike and Stanley (a recurring issue from Chapter One), but their narrative significance somewhat compensates for that.

Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Wyatt Oleff each reprise their roles for flashbacks via the CG de-aging technique frequently showcased in Marvel movies as of late. However, the effectiveness of this technology varies drastically. Some of the children genuinely resembled their younger selves while the others had what I'd describe as unnaturally rubber faces. Given that most of these actors underwent puberty in-between installments, their voices are also altered in post-production, which was also quite noticeable. In an ideal world, this footage would have been shot during production of the first chapter, but I understand budgetary restraints, scheduling, and an incomplete script likely prohibited that from happening. In spite of these technological flukes outside their control, the young actors lend ample nuance to these characters once more. 

Returning as Pennywise, Bill Skarsgård plays the deranged clown quite well. However, as an antagonist, Pennywise put up a lousy effort attempting to stop the Losers where he'd often come and go as the plot dictated. While the Loser's mindset (realizing it's not real) occasionally resisted him, that wasn't always a factor in his sudden disappearances. 

Despite its flaws, fans of Stephen King needn't fear for the second chapter's buoyancy. Ambition, top-rate production value, and a skillful ensemble are enough to keep this sequel afloat, but It Chapter 2 is a bloated and uneven follow-up.

Film Assessment: B-