The
Director: Andy
Muschietti
The Cast:
James
McAvoy – Bill Denbrough
Jessica
Chastain – Beverley Marsh
Bill
Hader – Ritchie Tozier
Jay
Ryan – Ben Hanscom
James
Ransone – Eddie Kaspbrak
Isaiah
Mustafa – Mike Hanlon
Andy
Bean – Stanley Uris
Teach
Grant – Henry Bowers
Jaeden
Martell – Young Bill
Sophia
Lillis – Young Beverley
Finn
Wolfhard – Young Ritchie
Jeremy
Ray Taylor – Young Ben
Jack
Dylan Grazer – Young Eddie
Chosen
Jacobs – Young Mike
Wyatt
Oleff – Young Stanley
Nicholas
Hamilton – Young Henry
Certificate: 15
Released
in UK cinemas: 5th September 2019
The
Plot:
It
is twenty-seven years after they defeated the horrifying Pennywise (Skarsgård, Deadpool
2),and the Losers have all grown up. Bill (McAvoy, Split) is a
writer, Ritchie (Hader, Inside Out) is a comedian; Beverley (Chastain, Crimson Peak) and Eddie
(Ransone, Sinister 2) are married to partners who are freakishly like
their respective parents; Ben (Ryan, Mary Kills People) has lost weight,
and Stanley is happily married (Bean, Transformers The Last Knight). The
only member who hasn’t left Derry is Mike (Mustafa, Shadowhunters).
Holed up in the town’s library, he has found signs that, maybe, It isn’t as
dead as they thought.
The
Review:
WARNING: mild spoilers for IT the novel, & IT (2017)
First
of all, the casting choices for the grown-up Losers are commendable. Hader is
perfect as older Ritchie, with a touching twist at the end that draws
cringeworthy attention to the film’s jarring prologue. Jay Ryan’s performance
is excellent, but he bears no resemblance to young Ben at all. Nevertheless, the
Losers reunion as adults at the Chinese restaurant is fun, relaxed, and
suggests the actors got on really well beyond filming. If you’re wondering
where else you may have seen Isaiah Mustafa before, look this way. Don’t let
that knowledge distract you, though, because his performance as Mike grounds
the whole ridiculous premise. Still, at least there’s minimal mention of the Space
Turtle.
Like
its predecessor, Chapter Two suffers from uncertainty in its tone. It
can crank up the tension to a painful degree: while beautifully shot, McAvoy’s
scene in Derry Festival’s Hall of Mirrors is claustrophobic and shocking
(though for a small-town attraction, it looks surprisingly expensive).
On the other hand, Chastain’s scene with the old woman mixes horror and dark
humour with bizarre aplomb; the jury’s out on whether or not it was intentional.
This makes the jump-scares less slap-dash (and there’s a lot of ‘em), but the
pay-off is often disappointing. Pennywise’s final form is another victim of
that tone confusion. Skarsgård
is having a fantastic time as Pennywise the clown, although he doesn’t appear
to be as creepy as before. Come the end, his endless monologues are so
irritating you’re rooting for the Loser’s Club all the more.
Also,
the film is over 2 hours long, so there could have been more
background to Pennywise’s young victims. The girl with the (unconvincing) birth
mark gets picked on; she quickly warms to Pennywise before the best jump-scare
of the film: what is her experience with clowns? Why don’t the adults notice when
she wanders away to follow a firefly? Why don’t they care? It might have
been explained in IT, but we need details!
I
can’t even remember if he had a name, but the boy lives in the very house Bill
shared with his tragic little brother, George! Why not have the film told from the
boy’s perspective? George’s ghost could haunt him in the cellar…
Another
burning question I came away with, is Henry Bowers: what happened to him? Henry
was the Losers’ worst enemy when they were kids, and for some reason, It manipulated
him into killing his own father. Now as an adult, Henry has been in an insane asylum
for all this time, and It calls on him again, to get revenge on the Losers. He almost
succeeds but then…we never see him again.
I
was glad this version of Chapter 2’s ending didn't conform to
previous adaptations. The fact that Bill is an author who struggles to write
decent endings will not be lost on fans of Stephen King’s work (The Stand immediately
springs to mind, is all I’m saying). The man himself dangles that little
reference himself, as a cameo as an antique store owner that goes on for far too long.
Unless
you’ve read the novel, (At over 1,000 pages, I commend you if you have!) the ending to IT Chapter
Two is satisfying enough. It’s sometimes funny, perhaps without always
meaning to be, relies heavily on jump-scares with poor pay-off, but you’ll be
too busy peeling yourself off the ceiling to care too much.
The
Verdict:
*** 3 STARS OUT OF 5
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