About the film (courtesy of Warner Bros.):
Twenty-seven years after the Losers Club defeated Pennywise, he has returned to terrorize the town of Derry once more. Now adults, the Losers have long since gone their separate ways. However, kids are disappearing again, so Mike, the only one of the group to remain in their hometown, calls the others home. Damaged by the experiences of their past, they must each conquer their deepest fears to destroy Pennywise once and for all…putting them directly in the path of the clown that has become deadlier than ever.

Stephen King’s adaptations into feature films have more miss than hit when judging these works from an objective point of view. For whatever reason, his stories typically better played out in our own imaginations rather than a stranger’s interpretation of those same written words. The talented author just has a gift to get under our skin (not in a bad way) and chill us to the bone in ways that most film directors could only dream about. That said, there have been several contenders over the years that have found a way to keep us riveted our seats while watching his words come to life.

Filmmaker Andy Muschietti was able to achieve this feat when bringing It (2017) to theaters. By becoming the highest grossing horror movie of all time, Warner Bros. was eager to get things rolling on the next chapter. For Muschietti, this would be an opportunity cement himself as one of the best horror directors in the past quarter century. All he would need to do is not botch the conclusion to the story of the Losers’ Club and Pennywise in It Chapter Two. And due to the excessive length of the movie, I promise to keep this review relatively short.

Here’s the good. It Chapter Two retains the same feel that made first part entertaining. Starting with the casting, the grown up versions of main characters are perfect. Due to the closely intertwined storytelling, even though it’s 27 years apart, allows audiences to truly appreciate the masterful casting. Young actors Jaeden Martell, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis and Chosen Jacobs become James McAvoy, James Ransone, Bill Hader, Andy Bean, Jay Ryan, Jessica Chastain and Isaiah Mustafa, respectively. Everything you loved or hated in the adolescent versions is still present and accounted for with the adult versions. Where it was funny, albeit a bit inappropriate at times, to hear a few of the kids curse like sailors, they’re even funnier as adults. Go figure.

The story, itself, goes into great detail and really attempts to flesh out the psyche of these damaged souls and how their past and present selves affect their actions and in-actions. There is no shortage of details being thrown about, nor is there a shortage of strong language waiting to pepper your virgin ears with obscenities. Oh and gore, yep, It Chapter Two didn’t forget that. The subject matter also contains content normally relegated to “pre-politically correct” times. There’s noooooooooo doubt that this is rated R for very good reason…and lots of them.

Now to the bad…ish. Maybe It Chapter Two goes into too many details and repeats itself or tries too hard to beat certain things into your brain. I’m generally okay with things being excessive if they’re done with a worthy purpose. I just feel that some of the drawn out portions were simply done to make sure that nothing, and I mean nothing was left out. One thing you can’t accuse this movie of is a lack of being thorough. But aside from its marathon runtime of 169 minutes, my feelings are pretty positive about this conclusion.

It Chapter Two is not a sequel, nor does it feel like a sequel. Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) is not as frightening as he appeared in the first movie. Maybe this is because they’re not dealing directly with kids or maybe it’s because this is the second time around now and we’ve become accustomed to him. Either way, the “scary horror” isn’t up to the level I had hoped for. Fleshing out the characters is gratifying but not perfect. And the humor is alive and well throughout. It’s nice to know that the constant threat of supernatural clown couldn’t kill that off. This is absolutely worth checking out and is probably more enjoyable with a crowd. So I guess seeing it in theaters is the way to go. You can check it out right now.