‘It Chapter Two’ review — Once a loser, always a loser

It Chapter Two finds the members of the “Loser Club” returning to their hometown to face Pennywise one last time

30-second review: Rather than adding onto and complementing the first movie, It Chapter Two feels bogged down by it. Director Andy Muschietti and screenwriter Gary Dauberman try to make the movie funnier, scarier, more intense, and more emotional. As a result, it's none of those things.

The movie returns to the playbook that made many of the set pieces in the first work and doubles down on each of those elements, which seems instinctive, but instead, it just means each scene is predictable. That coupled with the overreliance on CGI, formless structure, and execssive plotiness makes It Chapter Two an uninspiring conclusion.

Where to watch It Chapter Two: Now playing in theaters.

There's a recurring joke in It Chapter Two surrounding the grown-up Bill (played by James McAvoy — Jaeden Martell plays him as a teen). After leaving Derry, he went on to become an author, eventually adapting his books into films. However, he's constantly teased about not knowing how to end his stories. Well, this movie, which completes the story arc started in 2017's It, has a similar problem.

Andy Muschietti returns to direct the film, which takes place 27 years after the original. As we see in the first 45 minutes, each member of the self-proclaimed “Losers Club” have gone on to achieve relatively normal lives despite the trauma they experienced in their youth. As Mike (Isaiah Mustafa as an adult and Chosen Jacobs as a teen), who never left the town of Derry, Maine, tells them, the further you get from the town the more the memories fade away. But he remembers what happened to them — and it's happening again.

The first part of the movie is dedicated to Mike getting the gang back together, which includes Bill, his love interest Beverly (Jessica Chastain and Sophia Lillis), fouled-mouth jokester Richie (Bill Hader and Finn Wolfhard), former fat kid (and now hot) Ben (Jay Ryan and Jeremy Ray Taylor), hypochondriac Eddie (James Ransone and Jack Dylan Grazer), and Andy Bean and Wyatt Oleff as Stanley.

While it's all fun and games at first, Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) quickly starts up his old tricks to torment the gang as they try to figure out how to defeat him. Old memories are rehashed and wounds are reopened as each of the “Losers” face their pasts. Each of them gets their moment. However, the movie doesn't really explain why each of them needs one. Yes, they all have chips on their shoulder, but each character vignette feels more like a way of letting the starry cast each have their turn in the spotlight. It feels more like filler than an actual plot — which explains the unnecessarily bloated 169-minute runtime.

Rather than adding onto and complementing the first movie, Chapter Two feels bogged down by it. Muschietti and screenwriter Gary Dauberman try to make the movie funnier, scarier, more intense, and more emotional. As a result, it's none of those things. I liked the first movie quite a bit. Though it isn't perfect, the plot is more focused and intentional, which makes each scene (and scare) more effective.

Chapter Two returns to the playbook that made many of the set pieces in the first work and doubles down on each of those elements, which seems instinctive, but instead, it just means each scene is predictable. That coupled with the overreliance on CGI makes the movie completely devoid of horror.

Because the middle section drags so much, the plot is stuffed into the first and last 45 minutes. However, there is so much plot — and so much exposition — that we never get a chance to reform the emotional bond with the characters that makes the first so successful. The end of Chapter Two, which should feel triumphant and bittersweet instead feels hollow.

Hader and Ransone do some of the best work of the cast and get chances to flesh out their characters a bit more, especially Hader, though there is some subtext that is a little too subtle to be notable. The rest of the cast, however, never really connect.

If you haven't noticed, I haven't mentioned Pennywise, the eponymous “It” much yet. And that's because he's less than his already scant screentime in the first movie. Skarsgard is so good in the role, but Muschietti is more obsessed with action-based setpieces than he is actual horror, so he never gets a proper chance to shine.

To be honest, there's so much more I can criticize and tear apart in It Chapter Two, but I'll spare you and say this. Clearly, Muschietti had a long list of things he wanted to do and tackle in this movie — and he did all of it. Unfortunately, the movie didn't need most of it.

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Hey! I'm Karl. You can find me on Twitter here. I'm also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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