AT THE MOVIES

by Isy Jordan

It Chapter Two
Director: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgard, and more...

Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.

2019 has been a big year for Stephen King adaptations. While the remake of his Pet Sematary that came out earlier this year left a lot to be desired, the second part of the IT remake was a solid hit.

Twenty-seven years have passed since the Losers Club thought they vanquished IT. Only Mike stayed on in Derry to monitor the situation. The other members of the Losers Club left and went on with their lives. Curiously, those who left Derry have few memories of their battle with Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Mike not only remembers everything clearly, he's been doing his homework, waiting for the moment the monster would resurface.

The opening scene of the film was controversial but taken straight from the book. It depicted a hate crime in Derry committed against a gay couple. Such a crime actually happened in 1984 at the time King lived there in Bangor which he based Derry on. It sets the stage by showing that IT, along with the Losers who escaped it, has grown and adapted. The same rules don't apply and Mike is taking notes.

After witnessing the return of IT himself with the hate crime incident, Mike calls each Loser and beckons them back to Derry. They return and reunite, not all on board with what Mike thinks they need to do to combat an ancient evil. But slowly, each member of the Losers Club understands what he or she has to do to confront the ancient entity once and for all.

Like the first movie in 2017, It Chapter Two was well-acted, written, and executed. The only complaint this reviewer has is the CGI effects which were used to make the actors who portrayed the younger Losers look younger to compensate for how much they grew since the first film. There were also some really weird-looking CGI effects at the dinner scene at the Chinese restaurant. Outside of that, and as a book fan, I enjoyed the movie immensely.

The actors playing the older Losers were well-cast and featured some of today's best talent. Jessica Chastain as Beverly was an obvious choice. James McAvoy did an excellent job as Bill grown up. It was Bill Hader as a grown-up Richie Tozer who managed to steal many of the film's scenes. Hader brought a heavy dose of comedy to the film and it gave it a nice balance. When it came to the more serious scenes, he did a great job there too as did the rest of the cast.

Pennywise wasn't on the screen as much in this film which only made it a little scarier when you did see him. The CGI for his character was a bit stronger than the rest and didn't pull the viewer out of the experience during the tense ending of the film. The Losers, more than once, were sent off on solo missions in the film which included painful flashbacks to the past. Those were entertaining but self-indulgent at times and only seemed to pad the already long film. Fans of the book will notice changes but they work. The ending of the film is touching and satisfying.

The film is rated R for language, sexual innuendo, violence, and disturbing, bloody images. This is not for the younger set, especially when you consider two of the early victims are children. The film is a lot of things. It's a drama, a comedy, and above all a horror film. It works on all levels. I highly recommend it.

Isy