It: Chapter Two Review

It: Chapter Two
Director: Andy Muschietti
Cast Headliners: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, James Ransone, Bill Skarsgard, their friends and child forms           
Original Release Date: September 6th, 2019 


      2017's It (or retroactively It: Chapter One by now) delivered mostly quite swell on remaking Stephen King's classic clown-demon-alien-ghost versus kids horror epic. It: Chapter Two both brings the main arc of the story of the kids to a close while also having the task of introducing the adult versions of the characters after the time jump. It's thus both more of the same while also being something very new so far that some results may vary. There's of course some  many scares between the drama, laughs, and feels.
After an incredibly brutal (perhaps uncomfortably so, but it is exactly in the source material) the Loser's Club is brought together again in 2016 after a 27 year time jump. Both kid and adult versions of the squad do end up appearing with some of these being more believable than others. This is everyone of brother of Georgie stuttering leader Bill( James McAvoy as an adult with Jaeden Lieberher Martell as a youth) is now a famous novelist, the dark past woman of the group Bev(Jessica Chastain as an adult and Sophia Lillis as a youth) a famous fashion designer in an unfortunate parallel of an abusive marriage, comedic relief Richie(Bill Hader as an adult and Finn Wolfhard as a youth) a fitting stand-up comedian, former shy fat new kid now strong Ben(Jay Ryan as an adult and Jeremy Ray Taylor as a youth) a successful architect, nervous hypochondriac Eddie(James Ransome as an adult and  Jack Dylan Grazer as a youth) a risk assessor of questionable success with a nagging wife much like his mother(even played by the same actress) , and the brief appearance of a fearful Stanley(Andy Bean as an adult and Wyatt Oleff as a youth) in an unknown profession. It's wise Mike(Isaiah Mustafa as an adult and Chosen Jacobs as a youth) who has become a town library historian and knowledge of the monstrous Pennywise the Dancing Clown/ It(Bill Skarsgard) who brings them back together for revenge once and for all.
That's what makes this story one of the more special Stephen King tales. It's a dark thrill ride of spookiness but it also is one of human heart and drama. Nearly all of the new casting choices carry the perfect chemistry and young-at-heart silliness of their past-set forms which makes one care for them. There's extra kudos to be given to Hader's Richie and Ransome's Eddie. They both manage to not only deliver just as many laughs as their kid counterparts but have important growth arcs and new demons(both internal and literal) to face. McAvoy's Bill and Chastain's Bev both carry the charisma and courage of their past selves as leading roles as well although the casting is just a touch off. This goes even moreso for Mustafa's Mike and to a bit further extent to Ryan's Ben and Bean's Stanley but their kindness and sincerity is felt. The script is mostly solid although at times as just the slight bit of (perhaps wanted) cheese..especially when it tries to be more romantic than funny or dramatic.   The kid counterparts are a delight to see again in the rare spots they do show up and it becomes more-number-one in a good way with them getting the slight edge overall for quality. Both eras heroes are actually mostly separated (with the past smartly taking place in a small time jump from the first film) from each other due to narrative reasons so the group dynamic only shows up in some parts more than others but strengthens when it does.
The other part of the It experience other than the laughs and human drama is of course, the scares. The movie has plenty to spare (once again aided by director Andy Muschietti's dark directing) although as a whole one would have to say that it treads some mostly familiar ground and has a slight less of a scare than the first as things become more epic action than on-the-run existential paranoia. Expect many, but not too many, jump scares and creepy trippy illusions. Skarsgard's titual villian Pennywise is once again great. His makeup and outfit look is as effective as ever along with his monstrous forms and servants in new ways although at times there's some slight CGI cheese. He carries more of a personal vengeance grudge this time which helps make him even more of a taunting jerk in the sporadic times he isn't illusion-terrifying or eating people.  Secondary antagonist insane bully Henry (Teach Grant as an adult and Nicolas Hamilton as a youth) brings his own creepiness but with an increase in insanity comes even further sliding into generic minion and a mullet that just doesn't work at all although there's some bloody satisfying showdowns.
This movie , for the most part, delivers more background on what It....is . Alot more is taken from the original novel and greater King-multiverse although it doesn't quite go fully novel-accurate but takes it in its own spin. This metacosmic lore may put off some viewers expecting pure scares or preferring not to know but it allows for more context and meaning. Some changes are disappointing but other changes make sense. It must be noted that this movie is almost 3 hours long so the length of the TV miniseries is contested although it misses a few beats along the way.  In the end it makes it worth it (aside from some odd closing scenes)
This movie is recommended with the first one as a must but that's almost an obvious given.  It delivers more of the wanted same although perhaps in direct comparison missing something from the simpler first time. Perhaps that's symbolic of being young and being older... the netherworld is scarier then but at times our world is scarier now. As a whole putting these two together its an overall modern duology that King and Tim Curry should be proud of. 8 out of 10