I actually watched this movie more than 2 weeks ago, but I really haven't been in the mood to review it. This movie just suffered from a serious case of sequel-itis and is one of the few moments that find myself wishing I'd watched the superior preceding chapter in theaters. This has happened to me twice already this year with "Us" and "Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald".
All things considered, IT (2017) was an okay movie; it, however, was not the superior experience that most people emphasized that it was. I still feel that the original IT (1990) was actually a more scary experience. Not to take away from Bill Skarsgard's brilliant performance as Pennywise, but Tim Curry's Pennywise is still the superior one in my opinion.
The second part of both IT iterations tend to follow the same beats: less Pennywise and less interesting/scary than their predecessors. This is more evident in IT: Chapter II. The movie is extremely long and drawn out. It makes sense in the beginning because it needs to re-introduce us to the grown version of the protagonists (The Losers' Club); but it just slows down somewhere in the middle, and it just becomes this sort of unfulfilling slow-burn.
Most of the adult characters are believable versions of their teenage counterparts; the casting department deserves a lot of respect for their casting choices, especially for the Bill Hader/James Ransone rendition of Richie and Eddie combo. I'm guessing that what lets us down is the adaptation of this Stephen King book for the big screen. Despite how far we've come technologically (yeah, the IT: 1990's underwhelming version of a Spider monster was a real letdown), this movie really struggles to get me to believe that the clown evokes as much fear in the adults as he did when they were kids. A big part of this is due to the use of computer generated imagery (CGI) where practical effects would have sufficed; the CGI is so obvious that it just pulls you out of your suspension of disbelief. If I wasn't so disappointed, I would have laughed out in some of the areas that were meant to cause scares.
The CGI actually gets irritating in places because it cause an "Uncanny Valley" effect. I can understand that the child actors grew considerably since the filming of the last movie, but there are a few notable areas in the movie where you can see the wonky effect of CGI on Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor).
The character of Henry Bowers also feels really wasted this time around. Implausibly, he resurfaces after that death-defying fall down the well in the previous installment, and reappears as an adult to wreak havoc. Teach Grant plays adult Henry as someone who's insane, but he just doesn't seem like that much of a menacing character.
All this eventually leads to a final act that seems more stuffed with overkill than John Wick: Chapter 3. Initial scares followed by a plot twist, then solo scares and more teamfare just makes this a painful slog until the end. One of the more touching moments in the movie is that of the team comforting a crying Richie, but that's the only saving grace in a long joyless affair.
If I were you, I'd wait for this when it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray if you really feel you must watch it. Definitely give this movie a well deserved B-/C+.
God Bless
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