27 years have gone by and Pennywise returns to strike fear and consume the town of Derry, Maine. Mike, the only member of the Loser's Club that stayed behind in Derry, reunites his old friends to finish what they started and find a way to kill It once and for all. While the plot sounds simple enough, the runtime clocks in around almost three hours. While the movie is very long, I do have to say that despite the pace being slow, I never felt bored watching the film mostly because there are many scenes of development or fun chills. The tone is more balanced compared to the first film. The first "It" had an issue of bouncing from dark horror to campy, goofy fun out of nowhere. Chapter Two remedies this issue as the film takes itself much more seriously and the comedy is mostly delivered by the characters, although there are odd moments of goofiness from the creature designs that aren't scary but weird, to Eddie's odd situation when It tries to give him fear. I will say that these odd tonal elements aren't as distracting compared to the first film though.
The Loser Club returns and are extremely well-casted by adult actors that manage to reflect the children performances. In the first film, the kids were loveable for their character and unique traits. The adults borrow these, but in a more subdued matter due to their age, but are given arcs and personal obstacles for their development. Bill, played by James McAvoy, is still mourning his brother's death, Richie, played by Bill Hader, is afraid of opening up about his sexuality, and Eddie, played by James Ransone, is still afraid of It, even as an adult. The other characters like Beverly, Ben, and Mike, also have their own arcs, but are more spoiler-heavy. The Loser Club is still very likeable, children or adult. I still think Bill, Mike, and Richie are my favourite of the group. As for Pennywise, once again played by Bill Skarsgard, they decided to make him much more over the top, both as the clown or using the creatures to scare the adults. To be fair, they did choose Pennywise to be more of a funny entity, rather than half serious half silly like in the first film, so I'm okay with the change. Henry Bowers, the bully from the first film, is barely in the film and just acts as a short obstacle rather than a threat, but that was also the same in the novel, so I can't blame the writers in that department. Overall, I feel that the characters were just as good like before, with Pennywise even being more consistent in his performance.
Andy Muschietti once again does a great job directing. While the first film cleverly used aesthetics and lighting for specific scenes whenever the kids are brought together or by themselves, this film opts for a more greyer, muted look to match the characters being adults and how their lives aren't so great. Colours and lighting do change whenever the adults are being frightened or reality has changed around them. The cinematography by Checco Varese and the score by Benjamin Wallfisch is good as well, but the visual effects are pretty bad. The horror genre isn't kind to CGI effects due to the limited budget, but the creatures in this film look much worse and look like they stepped out from a cartoon half of the time, mostly due to the silly designs. I will praise the de-aging effects in the flashback scenes though. I should also touch on the horror directing in general. The first film is more horrifying since the kids are always in peril. Outside of a few kids in this film, the adults are being targeted which doesn't exactly bring fear since adults usually can survive more efficiently than children for example. Even though I wasn't scared (which I barely am due to the saturation of the horror genre), I find it unique for a horror film to focus on middle-aged adults trying to overcome an evil entity rather than children or stupid young adults like in most horror films. Muschietti does another great job with the film, but still can improve in certain areas.
It Chapter Two can be debated on whether it's a good follow-up or one that does a poor job in living up to the hype. Things like the runtime, slower pace, poor effects, and lack of true horror can ruin this film for some. Outside of the effects and scares though, I personally think that this film is just as good or slightly better than the first thanks to strong characters and their respectable actors, great directing from Muschietti, pacing that got me hooked and intrigued for the long runtime, and the film delivering on the conclusion that I felt did a better job than the novel and miniseries. Some or most of you might not agree with me, but I got a bit more out of this film than the first. I recommend for people to watch if you just want to watch a horror film with likeable characters, if you loved the first film, or if you just want to have some fun watching a silly, but well-made film about grown-ups taking down a killer clown.
Verdict: 7.8/10. I personally felt this movie was better than the first by fixing up the tone, yet it's not a great movie though, but both films are good on their own or together as a two-parter, despite the issues that are present.
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