IT: CHAPTER TWO

IT CHAPTER TWO: A-

While still a strong, mesmerizing and enjoyable film, like its 1990 predecessor it suffered the same fate as not being as good as chapter one. The film seemed to light too many candles at both ends, thus making it impossible to remain focused and centralized. There's often so much detail in a Stephen King story, as much as they tried to include it's hard to believe all that was omitted. It might have made for a stronger execution if even more had been omitted. It's hard for an audience to absorb and feel the full effects of a scene or a moment within the scene when their is so much going on. Allude it to professional wrestling for a moment. This film didn't feel like a main event between two gifted performers. It felt more like a Battle Royal with 20 superstars in the ring, with each having an important story to tell. You want to pay attention to everything and everyone, but your eyes and your mind can't focus on everything that's going on. It's overwhelming and impossible to do so. That's how IT Chapter Two felt.

This film is all about the characters and each one must be examined.

Jessica Chastain as Beverly Marsh gave a very solid performance. She played the character as one would expect a woman with a traumatized childhood to have turned out. She was strong and courageous, a heroine.

James McAvoy as Bill was good, but I was disappointed that he wasn't a centralized character with greater focus. While all the characters were facing IT, I feel that Bill should've been the leader. The true enemy of IT. I appreciate that the film wanted to go with the idea of the losers as a unit, as a whole but I still think that would have come across, perhaps even stronger if Bill had been (as he was in Chapter one) made clear as the leader.

Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise was again very strong, but his reintroduction to the characters was too abrupt. It would have been better to have been more gradual, more personal, with greater dialog. I don't feel there was enough of him in the sense of him knowing who the losers were and fearing what they were capable of.

Bill Hader as Richie gave an excellent performance. I have no problem with Richie being homosexual but I do have a problem with why the felt the character had to be gay. There's a brotherhood, kinship and friendship that can be bonded between two males, who love one another, without there having to be anything sexual, intimate or romantic. I got the sense that Richie loved Eddie, but I never got the sense that he wanted to kiss him or have sex with him. That he wanted to see him naked or hold hands with him while listening to Michael Bolton on the beach. I simply got that he valued Eddie as his best friend and that he loved him. Nothing gay here as far as I'm concerned and I think it was for that reason, unnecessary to call the character gay.

Isaiah Mustafa as Mike was the weakest performance. Playing the character as high strung, nervous, unsure of himself, with high anxiety, I think was a poor choice. If anything being the one that stayed in Derry, he should have been the most cool, calm, calculated and collected. Perhaps it was in the writing or in the directing, but I did not like the way this character came across at all.

James Ransone as Eddie was the strongest performance out of the whole cast. He was exactly as Eddie would have turned out as an adult. I do think he would have been a bit braver than what he was though. It was almost as if he regressed, and I'm not sure that would have been the case or not.

Jay Ryan as Ben was ok, but not given as much as the other characters to work with. In a film with so many rabbit trails and tales to tell, someone is always going to get the short end of it. In this case it was Ben.

Andy Bean as Stan was as good as one can expect all things considered. Not much more that can be said.

Teach Grant as Henry Bowers didn't have a proper set up. It was way too abrupt and subtle.

The flashback scenes with the kids were some of the best parts of the film.

Like the 1990 film, I try and examine why chapter one is stronger than chapter two. I think it's because of a few different reasons. I think for one, an audience is going to have a greater sense of urgency watching children fight a monster than they will adults. Secondly, the bond and brotherhood/sisterhood between the characters as children comes across as honest and true. Sincere and a genuine. Whereas as adults it felt more forced and out of necessity. They did eventually become the losers again,but the ride wasn't as smooth as it could've been.

Good film, in fact very good film. Simply see a lot of ways in which it could've been better.

READY OR NOT

READY OR NOT: B+

While the film did have some noticeable weaknesses that deserve to examined, it was full of strengths that overall give this combination of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME & CLUE a favorable review.

The sociological and psychological in depth study of each character, as to their motivations, reasoning and justification was as fascinating as it was thought provoking. There was enough there to capture interest and make one question, yet too much missing to give a satisfying answer.

From the setup alone, it was clear that Alex was going to make a turn. There was nothing shocking about his final decision. Yet the transition seemed sudden and indecisive. There was nothing clear within his own consciousness as to why he made the decision. Of course their was his Aunt's foreshadowing speech,but that alone is at best two hydrogen atoms. Still need the oxygen in their to make water. One might conclude that Grace's killing of his mother was the pivotal moment of change, but prior dialog gives different suggestion.

More backstory was needed as to Daniel's reasoning as well. It was difficult to tell whether he was acting out of a moral objection or if he was simply fed up with what he believed to be traditional nonsense.

The undertones of this film at the examination of the superficiality, shallowness, insincerity, disingenuous, fake and phony demeanor of the ultra-wealthy was incredibly strong and clever. Even more so in that each character gave off a different level of likability. Some deaths were certainly more satisfying than others.

The performances in this film were very strong. Samara Weaving absolutely killed it as the lead. While others transitions were left with holes, her's were given the full attention they deserved. It was shocking to see Andie MacDowell in such a role, considering her criticism of Hollywood violence in the past. One can't help but wonder if her death scene prior to the family's worship chant of "Hail Satan" might have been written in for the "hard to be a Christian in Hollywood" actor on purpose.

The ending would have been stronger and more compelling had nothing happened. Had the family found out what they believed was a bunch of rubbish. Where it would have gone at that moment, a multitude of possibilities. Seeing that the curse was real, gave them a sense of justification they didn't deserve. It would have been better had they had to face the consequence and realization that there was no devil or evil spirit of Mr. Le Bail, and the real monster, the real evil was themselves.

A film that deserves another viewing, if not many more viewings to further examine the characters.

Watch this film, the sense or urgency begins about 15 minutes into the film and keeps you hooked up to the very end.