In
retrospect, 2017’s It had genius marketing. Coming out at the perfect
time to capitalise on both that weird creepy clown trend and the recent
popularity of the first two seasons of Stranger Things (another horror
‘80s throwback), it quickly became the highest grossing R-rated horror film of
all time. Part of this success was how singular it seemed. Although those who
had read the novel were certainly aware that the film was only one half of
Stephen King’s 1,138 page epic, the general public were fooled into thinking
that the film was standalone and that any of the major characters could be
slain by Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) at any moment. It wasn’t until the closing
title card that director Andy Muschietti played his winning card; the addition
of a ‘Chapter One’ to those two letters. Despite the fact that R-rated horror
films rarely do gangbusters at the box office, a sequel suddenly became
inevitable and twenty-seven fiction and two real-life years later, we have one.
As
mentioned, It: Chapter Two picks up twenty-seven years after the events
of the first film. Nearly every member of the Loser’s Club has moved on from
Derry and have had varying levels of success, including Bill (James McAvoy),
Ben (Jay Ryan), Beverly (Jessica Chastain), Richie (Bill Hader) and Eddie
(James Ransone). The only Loser who has remained in Derry is Mike (Isiah
Mustafa) and he sets the story into motion when he observes a series of
disappearances and realises that Pennywise has returned. Muschietti returns to
helm the picture, along with the original child cast, who are seen in
flashbacks.
The
first thing you might think about the film leaving the cinema is about its
length, which was easily the biggest talking point leading up to the movie’s
release. At 170 minutes, it is much longer than your usual studio horror film.
For comparison’s sake, the first It was considered pretty long at about
140 minutes. It is easy to argue that a combined 310-minute runtime is
justified for such a long source material (after all, Peter Jackson’s
three-film adaptation of Lord of the Rings ran to 682 minutes), but the
way Chapter Two uses its runtime make it feel bloated. Very bloated.
In simple terms, the film takes bloody ages to do anything. Don’t get me wrong,
it’s entertaining throughout, but editor (sorry to name and shame) Jason
Ballantine could have easily cut a good ten or twenty minutes off the film.
Part of the reason it runs so long is its overreliance on flashbacks to the
younger cast. As many viewers have been quick to point out, the whole point of
splitting the story into two parts was so they didn’t have to overpopulate the
adults’ story with flashbacks to the kids. But overpopulate it does, and the
screenplay regularly drops in scenes (that could have easily slotted into the
first), with all the grace of an elephant balancing on a pin. There’s even a
whole location that was apparently important to the child Losers that wasn’t
even alluded to in the first film. Note to screenwriters writing a two-part
story; this isn’t how to do it.
On
the bright side, many of the elements that worked in the first movie still work
here. The adult Losers have striking resemblance to their child counterparts
(particularly Ransone) and have the same chemistry with one another. The
standout of the cast is Hader as Richie, who is a very effective comic relief
character, getting pretty much all of the best lines, but is still given more
depth than your usual comic relief character. In fact, after being fairly
annoying in the first film, Richie gets some great development here and is now
perhaps the deepest character in the film. On the other side of the emotional
spectrum, Skarsgard is still doing great things with Pennywise, creating a
terrifying screen presence by straddling the line between comical and creepy. On
that line of thinking, the film also has some inventive scares that are a bit
less predictable than the first’s. The scariest of these involves a countdown,
and on that I shall say no more.
The
film constructs a running gag about how Bill (who has become a novelist) never
finds a satisfying way to end his works. This is set up from the very first
scene with him and continues throughout most of the movie. This is most likely
a playful swipe at Stephen King, who also seems to have trouble ending his
novels (I should know, I’ve read quite a few of them). One of the most
notorious of these ‘bad’ endings is the ending to the It novel. Without
spoiling anything – reader, it involves a sentient cosmic turtle. Chapter
Two follows the precedent that the 1990 It miniseries set in
ditching that climax and trying to construct a better one. Just like the 1990
version, it fails spectacularly, in a resolution so goofy it makes the cosmic
turtle seem like a David Lynch creation. If I wasn’t so committed to not
spoiling the movie, I would be happy to describe it in all it’s ridiculous
glory here. If you thought the climax of the 2017 film (in which the kids beat
Pennywise up with baseball bats) was a bit silly, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Now
that I’ve gotten that off my chest, It: Chapter Two is definitely a
mixed bag of a film. It has pretty good performances (and a couple of great
ones) and overall expands on the themes of its predecessor through some
effective scares and character moments. However, it falls apart with a
structure too overreliant on flashbacks to material that could and should have
been covered in the first film. Add to that a ridiculous ending, and you’ve got
a screenplay that probably needed another draft or two. That being said, it’s
entertaining and engaging throughout and is an enjoyable watch with a couple of
your cinephile mates (if only to turn to each other and point out the cameos,
Easter eggs and references).
Score: ⭐⭐⭐1/2 (B)
