The length is both a strength and weakness, as it
allows plenty of time for the audience to get to know more about the
characters.
You have to watch the first part of “It” from 2017
before seeing the sequel, though prior knowledge of Stephen King’s 1986 novel
or the 1990 TV movie might be acceptable.
“It” is about seven main characters as kids, dealing
with the threat of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, reprised by Bill Skarsgard,
during a scary summertime expedition in Derry, Maine in 1989.
Pennywise is said to reappear every 27 years. At the
end of “It,” the middle-schoolers make a deal that they will return, should he
come out again. It does.
Mike, played by Isaih Mustafa, the only one who stayed
in Derry, calls the others, one by one, and they answer.
Bill (James McAvoy) is a screenwriter in Hollywood,
Bev (Jessica Chastain) is in an abusive relationship, Richi (Bill Hader) is a
stand-up comedian, Eddie (James Ransone) is a risk-assessment insurance guy,
and Ben (Jay Ryan) lost his childhood weight to become a fashioned architect.
Stanley, played by Andy Bean, doesn’t appear.
Anderson said, “Besides its length, the movie’s other
flaw is that it doesn’t immediately draw a clear line between the kid and adult
versions of the characters.” It takes awhile to figure out who’s who, despite
Richie and Eddie being obvious, because of spot-on casting, and Bev is the only
female. The issue could be fixed with a few well-placed flashbacks.
Anderson criticized, “McAvoy, even though he’s a
terrific actor, doesn’t quite seem like Jaeden Martell’s Bill from the first
movie; the equally terrific Chastain doesn’t quite capture Sophia Lillis’
playfully puckish Bev.” Just like they did with Disney’s “The Kid,” Lillis is
left-handed and Chastain is right-handed.
After an inebriated reunion at a Chinese restaurant,
the plot requires each character to find a personal object that connects to the
summer 27 years ago, to perform a ritual. The searches are shown one at a time,
each with a flashback and scary Pennywise encounter, which takes up a large
middle part. Anderson noted, “The showdown also occupies a huge amount of
celluloid real estate, though, of course, the less said, the better.”
“It” was only 135 minutes and it kept its characters
mostly together, concentrating on really affecting scares. Anderson noted, “After
all, the movie wasn’t simply about ghosts or monsters, but things that haunt
the deepest, darkest corners in all humans.”
“It: Chapter Two” is less scary. Like the early “Evil
Dead” films and other 1980s horrors, its crazy creatures inspire surprised
laughter more than scares.
I’ll be honest, I was entertained. The last 40 minutes
drag and I can’t say this is a good movie, but it did give a lot of laughs, a
lot of awkward, confusing, maybe accidental laughs. I don’t know whether or not
this was meant to be funny the whole way. It doesn’t seem like the first one
was supposed to be. However, the sequel has the insane silliness of the TV
movie mixed with the budget of the first part, which comes off as a strange
hybrid that’s beyond stupid, but also beyond fun. I don’t know what this film
was going for, but I can tell you that I was enjoying this for how ridiculous
it was. If that’s what it was hoping to accomplish, then I definitely got a lot
of laughs. However, if it was meant to be scary or subtle, that’s definitely
not what we got.
If you want to see this, you can on Max, as I think
there might be some scares in here for viewers, but I leave the decision to
you.
Next week, I will be finishing “Halloween Month 2025”
with an animated movie that came out earlier this year.
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