Colin Tobin
Contributing Writer
“It: Chapter Two” is the sequel to the highly successful “It” film and is once again directed by Andy Muschietti. The film stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader and Bill Skarsgård. “It” picks up 27 years after the events of the first film as the Losers Club return to their hometown of Derry, Maine to kill Pennywise once and for all.
Easily my favorite aspect of the first “It” movie was the genuine interactions between the members of the Losers Club. Their bond reminded me of classic coming-of-age movies from the 1980s like “Stand by Me” and “The Goonies.” They all talk and behave like you would expect middle-school-aged kids to talk and behave. Chastain and McAvoy both give great performances as their characters deal with their personal trauma upon their return to Derry.
However, the real star of the show is Bill Hader as Richie. Hader steals every scene that he’s in and proves himself to be far more than Stefon from “Saturday Night Live.” His performance is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking and I found myself caring for him the most despite thinking Richie was sort of annoying in “It.” Another highlight is the humor that comes out of the conversations between the Losers Club, especially between Richie and James Ransone’s Eddie. This is easily one of the funniest movies I’ve seen all year, even with the scary child-eating clown.
My biggest complaint with “It: Chapter Two” was how it decided to spend its runtime. Clocking in at two hours and 49 minutes, the extensive length of the film is very noticeable. For a movie based on a 1,138 page book, I expected the Losers Club to be given more things to do (sadly, Maturin, the giant intergalactic God turtle from the novel isn’t given any screen time). Around the halfway point, the characters’ actions start to get very repetitive. They’re all forced to split up multiple times, to go on what feel like side-quests, which takes away from the best part from both movies: the camaraderie. The kids dealing with their worst fears on their own in “It” was truly terrifying and made them feel more vulnerable while their separation in this movie felt like a retread. Some of the characters even experience the same exact fears that they did in the first movie and it really takes away from the overall scariness in those particular scenes. All of the events of the film lead up to a third act “battle” that I thought was extremely underwhelming.
Overall, I felt “It: Chapter Two” felt like too much of the same and didn’t live up to its potential. If anything, see it for Hader’s performance alone and you won’t be disappointed. With the runtime, it is a bit of a commitment if you decide to see it in the theater. I feel like if you enjoyed “It,” you still might like this one too.