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View Full Version : It: Chapter Two (Andy Muschietti)



Henry Gale
08-31-2019, 05:26 PM
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7349950/) / Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Chapter_Two)

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Henry Gale
08-31-2019, 05:43 PM
I really liked the first one but this is an absolute mess (and tonally, made to feel like a dark romp) that makes the overall journey like a misfire.

This is a perfect case of none of the individual elements themselves not being wrong, just their employment and cohesion absolutely all over the place. The cast is really good, the core story is obviously sturdy, and there are lots of really nice moments (both with characters and spectacle) to bask in along the way, but there are also some scenes that feel completely wrong in their ordering or editing, and the ultimate sum of them feels way too shaggy to feel like a satisfied overall experience.

One absolute downgrade for this film texturally is the cinematography, which even without reading the credits I'd realized from the very opening scene that they'd lost Chung-hoon Chung. It feels like a less interestingly framed series of sharp, narrow, close-up medium shots from pedestrian angles, only feeling like it's opening up when there's a big FX shot or an establishing one. The budget probably tripled on this one and yet, those souped-up effects aside, it feels sadly cheaper. Also that same reliance on CG for some of the monster FX look wildly cartoonish instead of scary. Luckily there are some tangibly haunting practical ones in the mix to nicely balance them out.

But in the grander scheme of story and narrative elements, as much as it doesn't exactly drag (it actually never feels long despite it's chunky runtime), there's just the sense of no one really wanting to tell anyone no, especially to the source material. It's biggest issue is that it genuinely seems to use what should be its horror set-ups to sub in ridiculous comedic beats instead. It feels like someone is splicing in meme edits of scenes, only.. it's the real thing. One particular use of Juice Newton's "Angel of the Morning" made my jaw drop for its nonsensical audacity. But I guess that's a reaction worth applauding since nothing else actually scared me?

I'm sure as the years go on I'll inevitably want to revisit Chapter One around Halloween time or whatever other whim and really enjoy it all over again, then feeling the need to complete the story and get myself to watch this again, despite knowing the ultimate disappointment it all leads to.

What a bummer.

Pop Trash
09-01-2019, 06:40 PM
The book (and esp. the tv movie) gets really messy by the end. SK goes full tilt psychedelic nonsense and I had no idea what was going on. It's still one of my faves by him, mostly due to the massive tome of history he goes into i/r/t evil Derry.

Scar
09-06-2019, 02:43 AM
Well, they tried. I can’t Nay it right now because I’m exhausted and distracted. But I don’t think a home viewing down the road is going to be kind.

Ivan Drago
09-08-2019, 02:50 AM
I'm more mixed on this than I thought I would be. I loved how they handled the cosmic aspect of Pennywise's origins, a lot of the scares early on are cool and the cast is excellent. I also thought the cinematography was serviceable, even though I was missing Chung-hoon Chung as well. But the movie itself felt like a retread of events and character development covered in the first movie and the CGI monsters got repetitive after a while.

Ezee E
09-14-2019, 05:36 AM
Holy cow this is bad. The trailer really fooled me in the scene with Chastain.

SO damn long and unnecessarily so. Just factors that each character has to have their moment and flashback moment, one after another...

There's nothing really different here than what's accomplished (much better as well) in the first chapter. The bully character is only there out of necessity, but probably could've been removed altogether and nobody would've really blinked.

Couldn't wait for it to end.

Mal
09-17-2019, 11:52 PM
As much as I enjoyed this movie to some extent, I can't rate this as a positive. The first hour is such a jumble and it feels badly conceived. The constant use of the childhood moments feels more like a crutch than a well-integrated part of the film. I want to like this so much because this cast is actually pretty good (other than McAvoy, who I hate regardless) but nah. Its not as bad as new Pet Sematary, but its a solid mark below its predecessor. I wish Mike Flanagan had been involved with this- he does a solid, mature job with Geralds Game and handling traumatic events, abuse, etc. in ways that Muschietti isn't capable of.

TGM
09-18-2019, 12:02 AM
If Mike Flanagan had done this, I would’ve actually gone and seen it.

MadMan
09-22-2019, 06:27 AM
I really enjoyed this a lot, but the run time was unnecessary. I loved the cast. Also why the dig at King's endings? I like most of if not all of his endings. That was mean. Just like the book the first chapter/half was better than the second half.

Ezee E
09-24-2019, 04:49 AM
I really enjoyed this a lot, but the run time was unnecessary. I loved the cast. Also why the dig at King's endings? I like most of if not all of his endings. That was mean. Just like the book the first chapter/half was better than the second half.

He was clearly in on it with his own cameo.

MadMan
09-24-2019, 06:26 AM
He was clearly in on it with his own cameo.

That must be the case. I liked that cameo.

Wryan
09-29-2019, 04:09 AM
The over-reliance on cgi jump scares really cut the legs out from under many of these scenes, especially the one with Mrs. Kersh. It's so wonderfully creepy and taut and terrific. And those booming steps are so unnerving. Then something pops out that could have been cribbed from Nickelodeon's Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. Just takes the wind out of the sails instantly. I liked the cast a lot but felt the run-time. The human interpersonal stuff and the personal demons all works really well, even if it often feels like only a slight extension of the first movie. Hader was as great as I'd heard.

Also, jesus there was a lot of gay stuff in this, both pro and anti. Felt a bit out of place or tacked on at times.

EDIT: Oh but it was rather nice how genuinely funny it was.

Wryan
09-30-2019, 05:36 PM
Also, let it be known I had no problem with the "Angel of the Morning" thing. I laughed, especially cause it ended as quickly as it began. This was hardly one of the movie's more egregious missteps.

DavidSeven
01-02-2020, 10:35 PM
This had no atmosphere whatsoever. It felt neither tense enough nor psychedelic enough. Just a lot of VFX money wasted on cheesy looking creatures. Huge drop-off in filmmaking quality from the first film to this one, and it certainly makes one question how much Muschietti was bringing to the table.

Dukefrukem
04-12-2020, 03:16 AM
Finally wrapped this and pretty much agree with everyone here. Didn't feel at all like part I. I dont know why they insisted on using so much CGI and face warping. They turn genuinely spooky scenes into comedy.

Grouchy
04-27-2020, 08:39 PM
I'm in agreement with all of you. Really scary Horror is a difficult tightrope act, and this movie just runs over the tightrope, the elephants and the entire circus. Beverly's scene with the old Kersh lady, for example, is the most disturbing one in the film, and it's really great until she becomes a huge CGI monster - then it stops being scary. The movie plays like Muschietti tried to be Sam Raimi but without the intentional comedy. The special effects extravaganza might be exhilarating at times but scary it is not.

I have read It, I know it's a crazy book and a lot of the stuff Muschietti filmed was there on the page but different mediums require different solutions. It's been too long since I saw the 1990 TV adaptation to recall how they solved those scenes but I think it had a better tonal handle than this mess. It's a shame because the cast they put together is really cool. The early Chinese restaurant scene was great and I was really feeling their long lost camaraderie and humor... until it also devolved into a CGI whack-fest.