Movie Review: IT – Chapter Two

What I predicted would happen did happen for me where this movie was concerned. I enjoyed it more than I did its predecessor. Whereas with the first installment of IT I couldn’t help but draw comparisons—though I tried so hard not to—with the TV miniseries, and found the movie to be superior in some ways and lacking in others, with this new movie I wasn’t comparing it to the miniseries. I was comparing it to the previous movie. And I liked this one better. The biggest deficit from the first film—to put it bluntly, Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise just doesn’t measure up to Tim Curry’s version—is largely negated in the sequel. This is achieved by relying heavily on FX to depict Pennywise as more of the inhuman monster he, or it, truly is. The FX prop up Skarsgard’s performance. Shoot it full of nitrous oxide. Tim Curry didn’t have that. Nor did he really need it. Anyway, the clown is scarier this time around. And the biggest deficiency in the TV miniseries, the ending, is handled much more effectively here. Yes, we still get the giant spider, only it has Pennywise’s head, and the process of the heroes killing it is much more involved and satisfying. Once again, the miniseries did some things better and the movies do some things better. The ending, this movie most definitely did better.

They did lean a little *too* heavily on the CGI in other places, though. A little less of it would have made the rest more effective, in my opinion. But this is a relatively minor quibble.

IT: CHAPTER TWO is a beautiful movie, with fine acting and a superior script. (And holy shit do the adult actors look freakishly like the kid versions of their characters!) It has all the heart, and this time it has a villain with teeth, pardon the pun, to offer ballast. See it.

By TheCheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS, specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced, and directed (and occasionally acted in) over two dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and True Crime genres. He obtained a doctorate in Occult Studies from Miskatonic University and is an active paranormal investigator. Is frequently told he resembles Anton Lavey. And Ming the Merciless. Denn die totden reiten schnell!

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