Director Andy Muschietti returns to the helm for “It Chapter Two” to bring audiences the long-awaited finale between the Losers’ Club and Pennywise the Clown.
Picking up 27 years after the events of the first film, “It Chapter Two” finds the now grown-up Losers’ Club fulfilling the promise they made: To return to their hometown if Pennywise ever comes back. The Losers must band together and defeat the child-eating clown once and for all.
Adapting the over 1000-paged Stephen King novel into two movies is necessary considering all the story that is left to tell. Muschietti does his best to craft a satisfying conclusion but misses the heights of the first film. The first two acts struggle in pacing as the film is rushing to get the gang back together. The middle portion significantly slows down, but finds the characters separated from one another; losing the charm of watching childhood friends reunite.
It creates disjointedness as audience members wait to see the Losers come back together for the finale. There is also a problem with the subplots; like a love triangle between some of the characters and the return of sadistic bully Henry Bowers (Teach Grant), which are underdeveloped and forced.
At almost three hours, every second counts to justify the runtime though there are elements that easily could have been cut or reworked to have more of an impact. “It” remains a difficult property to adapt, so it is still impressive for Muschietti and crew to craft, at the very least, a good movie.
The grown-up cast this time around takes a moment to reach the chemistry their child counterparts had, but once together, they fall right into their roles. Bill Hader as Richie stands out as he brings his natural comedic chops to add levity, but also the character moments that flesh him out even more.
James McAvoy as Bill and Jessica Chastain as Beverly get the most character work as they become the heart of the film. James Ranson as Eddie will be a fan favorite channeling what made Jack Dylan Grazer’s performance so good in the first film.
The horror fans hoping to be scared may be let down though as the film shifts its focus on the deeper themes in King’s writings. Most notably, the finale goes all in on its character arcs rather than going for the scare.
“It Chapter Two” is not a perfect ending, but with its characters and deeper themes, the film is a satisfying enough conclusion for the Losers’ Club.
