It Chapter Two
Dustin Chase
“Jon Carter,” “Van Helsing,” “Scorpion King,” “Jupiter Ascending,” provide great company for “It Chapter Two;” another disappointing, big-budget studio release. Full disclosure, I wasn’t a fan of the 2017 remake, but this bloated sequel is far worse. The most obvious problem is the entirely unnecessary three-hour running time. The decision to regurgitate much of the plot from the previous film is the most obvious flaw. Proceeding to give each of the remaining characters equal reintroduction time through flashbacks and reinvented flashbacks, and then repeat those throughout the script is tedious. “It Chapter Two” is far less scary than the previous “It.” Skarsgård returns as Pennywise, but he’s more of a symbolic figure than an integral character this time around. The film’s opening sequence with French actor/director Xavier Dolan is one of the most befuddling of all. Why the script has a violent gay-bashing torture scene, the most grotesque scene in the entire film, is a mystery.
As teenagers, the “Loser’s Club” made a promise to return to Derry, Massachusetts if the horror they defeated ever returned. Twenty-Seven years later, the disappearances that plagued the little town has resumed. Mike Hanlon (Mustafa) is the only member of the group who remained in Derry. One by one, he calls each former friend to remind them why they have scars on their hands, and of the promise they made. Reluctantly most return to their hometown, but instantly regret doing so when Mike lays out what they are up against. Beverly (Chastain) has kept one thing from the group that shocks them as much as the one member of the group who can’t show up. Only together will they be able to defeat Pennywise in all his terrifying forms.
As teenagers, the “Loser’s Club” made a promise to return to Derry, Massachusetts if the horror they defeated ever returned. Twenty-Seven years later, the disappearances that plagued the little town has resumed. Mike Hanlon (Mustafa) is the only member of the group who remained in Derry. One by one, he calls each former friend to remind them why they have scars on their hands, and of the promise they made. Reluctantly most return to their hometown, but instantly regret doing so when Mike lays out what they are up against. Beverly (Chastain) has kept one thing from the group that shocks them as much as the one member of the group who can’t show up. Only together will they be able to defeat Pennywise in all his terrifying forms.
It’s not simply that Chapter Two is a bad film, it’s having all the right ingredients for a good meal and simply not knowing how to combine them.
Why are there so many crab leg and Meg Ryan references? Just a couple of the unexplained occurrences in the sequel. “It Chapter Two” feels like it was written by a bunch of 12-year-old boys sitting around a campfire tossing in every immature idea that pops into their heads. For every ordinary scare, there are two stupid ones. Apparently, since Beverly is the only female, and this is written by a bunch of boys, she is the one who has to scream every time she walks into a room? There’s at least one poorly acted scene from each of the actors, and the redundancy of how many times they have to remind each other “we have to do this together” is sickening. Chastain and Jay Ryan are the most believable of their younger counterparts, the others will require a bit more imagination.
De-aging effects to make older actors look younger, Hollywood’s favorite special effect of the moment, is a technique that’s still being perfected. It’s used here on the younger counterparts, the teenage cast members of the 2017 film, to make them appear years older. Blurry faces, darkened scenes, it never looks quite right and has me more worried about Martin Scorsese’s upcoming film The Irishman, a film which relies heavily on the technique. A good editor could have cut this film way below three hours, there are an exorbitant amount of scenes that don’t advance the plot of the story. It’s not simply that “It Chapter Two” is a bad film, it’s case of having all the right ingredients for a good meal and simply not knowing how to combine them.
Final Thought
The difference between the potential of this sequel and the end result, is staggeringly disappointing.