So, I saw It: Chapter 2, this weekend and the weekend before that. I enjoyed the movie the first time and enjoyed it again the second time. After enjoying the film twice, I thought it was only appropriate to do a spoiler-free review of the movie. I should also mention I have read the book so I fully knew what I was expecting when I walked into the film. Without further ado, let’s get started.
The casting and performances of It: Chapter 2 is amazing. Each adult cast member perfectly encapsulates the amazing personalities and performances from the first film. Bill Hader and James Ransone are personal standouts for me as those two characters – Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak respectively – were my favorite characters in the first film. Isaiah Mustafa (Mike Hanlon) was also another favorite of mine, even though they didn’t his character was mostly just a narrator for the film.
How scary is it, dear author? Stephen King novels are always scary to me because he is very masterful with horror. However, how scary is the film? It depends on how easily scared you get. Pennywise is terrifying once again but for me, the real horror wasn’t in Pennywise’s appearance. The real scares, to me, was for all the adult fears that seemed to be persisting in adulthood. The jumpscares (of which there are plenty) are still scary through a second viewing but obviously less so.
The cinematography was also great in this film as was the sound. The sound is steadily there, increasing the tension of the film and not pausing to give the viewer a breather at all. You’re on the edge of your seat throughout the movie, waiting to see what happens next. Particular cinematography scenes that stood out were scenes with the adults during flashbacks and any scene where Pennywise was completely or partially shrouded in darkness.
The only aspect of the movie I had an issue with was the length. The movie’s runtime is almost three hours, capping out at 2hrs 48min. That’s a really long movie. Now, granted, the movie is roughly 1000 pages so there’s a lot of material to get through and a significant portion of which they cut out. That being said, while I believe some parts could have been sped up or cut out entirely, I also felt that they need to add more to the movie. Specifically, development to Mike Hanlon’s character.
If you aren’t a fan of horror, I wouldn’t reccomend this. While there are funny parts, the movie is a horror movie, so it’s definitely trying to be scary. If you are a fan of horror, I would definitely go ahead and watch this. I’m a big fan of It and Stephen King so I may be a little biased but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope this review was helpful and beautiful. Did you enjoy this movie? Let me know down below!