“A disappointing follow up to a promising first instalment, saved by a terrific ensemble”
One of my first reviews was that for It – the surprise horror hit of 2017 that amazed audiences worldwide with a perfectly cast and performed Losers’ Club, a coherent and effect telling of Stephen King’s classic novel and, of course, the truly haunting performance from Bill Skarsgård as the titular villain which will go down in history as one of the most inspired antagonists ever put on screen. With all that praise that I bestowed there’s no wonder that I was beyond anticipating the latter half of the story in It: Chapter 2, the sequel covering the Losers’ Club return to their childhood home of Derry after the return of the terrifying force that haunted them 27 years prior.
Walking out I was left mostly satisfied with a well-acted and entertaining yet overly-long second part that concludes the story with well-realised themes and solid performances. However, I couldn’t shake the negatives of the extremely long 169-minute runtime and some debilitating pacing issues. Though these aren’t enough to derail the film from its highs of nigh-perfect casting and a band of protagonists that are as beautifully realised as they were two years
Here the Losers are all grown up and so recasts had to be made. James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain lead the group this time around as Bill Denborough and Beverly Marsh respectively. Both are excellent choices as the adult iterations of Jaeden Martell and Sophia Lillis and so the change feels extremely natural with their undeniable on-screen chemistry making the audience ponder whether it really is Martell and Lillis fresh out of a time machine. However, the real star of the bunch is Bill Hader as the adult version of Finn Wolfhard’s oh so lovable Richie Tozier, who has turned his natural foul-mouthedness into a successful stand-up comedy career. Hader gives an extraordinarily deep portrayal of the class clown that harbours dark and personal secrets underneath his humour. There’s a close-guardedness to his performance, his body language and facial expressions seemingly reacting to an intangible (and sometimes very tangible) force trying to pry his insecurities from him; you can’t take your eyes off him.
There’s nothing flashy about the direction of director Andy Muschietti but it gets the job done, the final sequences where the gang face Pennywise do carry some creative weight particularly in the Doctor Strange-esque trippy sequences that do present an entertaining visual treat. Particularly interesting is the adaptability of Muschietti who James McAvoy explained created an entirely new scene (the mirror-maze sequence) on the request of McAvoy who felt that his character hadn’t had enough development in the second act.
The scares in this movie do seem to be less effective than those found in its predecessor. This may be due to the central characters’ ages causing the effect of isolation and vulnerability found in the first movie to be lessened. Seeing young Jaeden Martell being haunted by a terrifying Pennywise is infinitely more effective due to the fear we have for the children. Subsequently, when James McAvoy is wandering through the same scenario, we know he’s going to be fine because he’s James McAvoy.
To conclude, It: Chapter Two provides a decent albeit slightly disappointing round-up to King’s horror classic. The film is carried by its terrific ensemble and some creative visuals, particularly nearer the end, however, it is brought down by the overly long run time and a debilitatingly slow second act. What is particularly disappointing is the lack of scares compared to the previous instalment which in turn slows down the pace even further to a tedious slog in the second act.
3/5
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