At what point should it matter that a movie is simply good, but not great?
For me, apparently, it’s when that movie is It: Chapter Two.
Coming two years on the heels of Andy Muschietti’s thrilling reinterpretation of the first half of Stephen King’s seminal masterpiece, It, the continuation, Chapter Two, is not a bad movie at all, per se.
It just pales, pardon the pun, when compared to It.
Chapter Two is longer by 34 minutes, but feels much longer than that. Chapter Two is less scary overall, although there are several thrilling sequences with well-deserved and perfectly executed jump scares. And Chapter Two, surprisingly, falters most when it focuses on the adult versions of the titular Loser’s Club that defeated evil clown Pennywise in the first film.
Despite recruiting some top-notch, A-list talent to play the grown-up Bill, Beverly, Richie, Mike, Ben, Eddie and Stan, it cannot be understated just how hollow several of the adult characters feel.
James McAvoy, so thrilling in Split and Glass, is surprisingly muted as the Loser’s leader Bill. Jessica Chastain, a perennial favorite during awards season, fails to generate a spark or exhibit much fight as Bev. Isaiah Mustafa and Jay Ryan, primarily known for television roles, feel almost out-of-place as Mike and Ben, respectively.
Really, just Bill Hader as Richie and James Ransone as Eddie deliver the kind of emotional heft necessary to do their respective character arcs any justice.
Not to worry, though, because Chapter Two spends almost as much time in the sequel with the kid versions of the Loser’s Club, and each of those young actors does just as solid a job as in the first film.
For fans who have read (and re-read) the book, It: Chapter Two may prove somewhat frustrating as there are a lot of liberties taken with the source material and key elements are either omitted entirely, re-purposed or completely overhauled. Some things, like the origin of the evil entity that takes the form of Pennywise the clown, are explained but not in a way that entirely works. Other subplots, like the violent revenge fantasy that Pennywise uses to fuel Henry Bowers’ escape from a mental institution, seem almost like an afterthought and lack any sort of proper explanation.
For much of its run-time, Chapter Two feels almost like its channeling Stand By Me instead of plowing like a locomotive into the heart of horror.
For me, that was a problem.
Muschietti’s first film was absolutely terrifying. From Bill Skarsgård’s electrifying performance as Pennywise to the carefully orchestrated scare sequences, everything worked in a way that few films based on King’s work had done before.
It stands to reason then that Chapter Two should be equally, if not more so, terrifying. And while the sequel is scary at certain key moments, it lacks that chugging momentum of consistent, unnerving fear that propelled the first entry.
The best sequences, which I won’t spoil here, include one scene teased in the trailer with Beverly revisiting the apartment where she grew up, another moment involving Richie that’s pulled directly from the book that is fantastically realized and a stellar turn inside a carnival funhouse when Bill comes face to face with his greatest fear.
What should have been better is the climatic fight between the remaining Losers and Pennywise in his true form. While a huge improvement from the 1990 television miniseries, it’s still difficult to fathom how modern moviemaking technology hasn’t come far enough to create a believable giant antagonist to match the mastery of King’s descriptive prose.
Again, I’m a lifelong fan of King’s work, a diehard devotee of 2017’s It and I very much enjoyed Chapter Two; I just wanted more.
I went into Chapter Two expecting to be wowed for the second time this year since Avengers: Endgame with an emotionally fulfilling conclusion to an epic achievement.
What I got instead was a good horror movie that probably could have benefited from some editorial tightening and a little more gore to justify its “R” rating.
John W. Allman has spent more than 25 years as a professional journalist and writer, but he’s loved movies his entire life. Good movies, awful movies, movies that are so gloriously bad you can’t help but champion them. Since 2009, he has cultivated a review column and now a website dedicated to the genre films that often get overlooked and interviews with cult cinema favorites like George A. Romero, Bruce Campbell and Dee Wallace. Contact him at Blood Violence and Babes.com, on Facebook @BloodViolenceBabes or on Twitter @BVB_reviews.
