IT Chapter Two

Stephen King's IT has always been one of my favorites of his many, many works, whether it's the epic novel, the 1990 mini-series, or now the two-part theatrical films. What was started in 2017 with the first half of the story resolves now with the member of the Losers Club coming back together 27 years later to once again confront the monster they thought they killed when they were kids. 

It's been 27 years since the Losers Club had last faced the monster known as IT and now it has resurfaced, as Mike Hanlon (played by Isaiah Mustafa) has discovered. He sets out to recruit his fellow club members to live up to the pact they made all those years ago: if it isn't dead, if it comes back, they return to finish the job. Scattered across the country, they all reunite in their childhood home town of Derry, Maine. Each one had carved out a life for themselves. Bill Denbrough (played by James McAvoy) is a bestselling author. Beverly Marsh (played by Jessica Chastain) is a famous fashion designer, Ben Hanscom (played by Jay Ryan) is an architect, Eddie Kaspbrak (played by Jay Ransone) works as a risk analyst for a major insurance company, and Richie Tozier (played by Bill Hader) is a famous stand up comedian. As they reunite, they all remark how much they had forgotten about their childhoods and how any memory of Derry at all had faded until Mike called each one of them. The only one that remembers everything is Mike, who never left and had devoted the past 27 years working at the Derry Library and preparing should the monster they fought as kids ever return. And it falls to Mike to get the rest of his friends up to speed and unite them all, setting the stage for the final showdown between them and the monster they know as Pennywise (played by Bill Skarsgard). 

The film was directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman from the iconic novel by Stephen King. The two manage to craft a follow-up that is every bit as good as the first film, if not actually better. The film is by turns terrifying, hilarious, and at times heartbreaking. Muschietti and Dauberman do a fantastic job balancing the tone throughout the film as they craft their epic tale of horror. They also bring back the younger actors for some key flashbacks throughout the film that never feel extraneous and fill in some scenes we didn't get to see in the first film that only strengthens the bond we feel between the characters. That is the theme that runs the strongest throughout both of the films and brings the story home by the end and that is the power of friendship and their unified strength in standing up to the darkness of the world. The filmmakers hit this theme so perfectly that the movie perfectly hits those emotional highs. At the same time, they manage to craft some memorably scary moments in the film as well, especially with our intrepid heroes each having an encounter with Pennywise or his assorted other forms, with Beverly, Richie and Eddie's encounters sticking out, as well as a very tense sequence of Bill chasing after potential Pennywise victim in a carnival funhouse. The film also has a good amount of humor to break the tension and often in the most unexpected places.      

The cast assembled for this is phenomenal and there isn't a weak link between them. You really believe that these are the adult counterparts of each of the kids we saw in the first film. I have to start with Bill Hader. Now, I've been a fan of his since his days on SNL but he blew me away here. Richie Tozier has always been my favorite character, whether it's the novel, the 1990 mini-series or here and he absolutely nails the role, not only hitting every comedic beat but hitting emotional depths with the character's vulnerabilities that had me sobbing in the theater. Jay Ransone likewise impressed as Eddie, capturing his character's insecurities and fear perfectly. He also plays off Bill Hader's Richie perfectly and the special bond between the two characters shines through beautifully. Jessica Chastain also manages to capture an adult Beverly quite well. Isaiah Mustafa has the trickier role with Mike Hanlon having to deliver a large amount of exposition as he gets the other characters up to speed and prepared to face off against Pennywise, but he handles it effortlessly. James McAvoy more or less picks up when his character's youthful counterpart Jaeden Martell left off as he continues to cope with his survivor's guilt, something he tries to atone for when he realizes the re-awakened Pennywise has set his sights on a kid roughly the same age as Georgie that lives in his childhood home. Jay Ryan doesn't have as much to play with in his role as adult Ben Hanscom, but does the most with what he has since much of his arc has to do with his unrequited love for Beverly, who as kids was crushing on Bill instead. I also appreciated that when we are first introduced to adult Ben, we get a cameo from Brandon Crane, who played young Ben in the original mini-series in a fun little moment at the beginning of the film.

Overall, IT Chapter Two is a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to an epic tale of the power of friendship. By turns frightening, funny and emotional it captures the spirit of the original novel. Rather than be a simple monster movie or horror movie, much like the novel, it finds it's real strengths in it's characters and with them at the forefront injects the film with a surprising amount of heart and emotion behind the scares and shocks, which gives the film more depth that your average cinematic horror film and is all the better for it. Clocking in at an impressive 2 hours and 45 minutes, the film flew by for me as I got pulled into the continuing adventure of a group of friends I have loved for almost 30 years now, ever since I saw the original 1990 mini-series. I've always had a strong affinity for this story. Probably because growing up I was part of a group of friends that very well could've been the Minnesota chapter of the Losers Club. And I say that with the utmost affection.