By Jarrad Climpson
At two-hours and fifty minutes long, IT: Chapter Two falls under its own ambition.
Andy Muschietti’s sequel to the immensely popular IT: Chapter One, stumbles when it should soar. This is mostly as a result of being a long-winded movie, clocking in at nearly two-hours and fifty minutes. If Avengers: Endgame was an ode to the three-hour epics of past, IT: Chapter Two is the antithesis, a colossus with no end in sight. While the direction remains mostly tight with occasional flourishes of brilliant cinematography, the pacing and editing of the movie lags behind so much, that one may begin to wonder how restless they are. It’s the type of film where you become acutely aware of how uncomfortable you feel in your seat, how those panes of hunger continue to gnaw at you, and just how weak your bladder is feeling. That is to say, IT: Chapter Two fails where the first movie succeeded- making you feel immersed with the Losers and their plight against Pennywise and his crusade against the town of Derry.
Which brings me to the biggest disappointment of the movie, what happened to the Losers and Pennywise? The second chapter has forgotten the ingredients that make the first work so well, that being the synergy between the Losers and the lurking presence of its central antagonist Pennywise. Bill Skarsgard is still delightfully wicked but gets so little screen-time for two-thirds of the movie that you don’t feel his threat or presence lurking in the underbelly of the film. Instead the movie wastes too much time bringing back the Losers to Derry instead of exploring the psychology of these adults. The movie glosses the surface of their trauma with Pennywise, which makes for a sad choice because there is a wealth of material there to explore, and themes that were prevalent in the first movie such as abuse and neglect get lost here. That being said the adult cast is very capable, however most of them do pale in comparison with their child actor counterpart with the exceptions of a hilarious yet nuanced Bill Hader as Richie, and a subtle and effective Jay Ryan as Ben.
Ultimately IT: Chapter Two is a disappointing follow up that meanders for too much of its run-time. I do recommend watching it if you were heavily invested in the first film though. I also appreciate the work that has gone into crafting a horror blockbuster event, just sadly this film has missed the mark in capitalising on that. Now that the American summer movie season is over, hopefully we can move into thematically deeper and richer movie territory.
P.S. Stephen King is very good in his cameo! Who knew he could act!?
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