IT CHAPTER TWO (MA15+)
TAKE A LAST LONG LOOK AT THE CLOWN DUELS DIRECTOR: ANDY MUSCHETTI (IT) STARRING: JESSICA CHASTAIN, JAMES MCAVOY, BILL SKARSGARD, BILL HADER, ISAIAH MUSTAFA RATING :
In It Chapter Two, clownophobia takes a back seat to closure. This is not to say that dreaded circus freak Pennywise ain’t the true star of the show in this massively anticipated sequel.
The powder-faced perv with the bulbous head and the blood-red balloons is still staring out at the world from the storm water drains of our nightmares.
However, It Chapter Two must also burn off every last loose end in Stephen King’s sprawling, 1100-page book.
The first It movie in 2017 only did half the job (and then took over a billion dollars to become the highest-grossing horror movie ever).
So be warned: It Chapter Two is a long, long movie. Much, much longer than required. The duration does not leave much change out of three hours.
The spectacular scares are still there. But in the gaps between, the fear factor drops from wild to mild.
Like The Losers’ Club – that Stranger
Things-ish group of teens who took on the creepy carnivorous clown in the previous instalment – you must put in some serious time and effort if you want to see Pennywise perish once and for all.
Speaking of The Losers’ Club, the membership is now all grown-up, with the
narrative time frame having moved on some 27 years since we last saw them.
Though spread far and wide, the Losers are summoned back to their hometown by the only one of their number brave or dumb enough to still live there.
Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), the local librarian, has noticed plenty of recent bad juju that could only be the work of the long-forgotten Pennywise (superbly played once again by the eerily menacing Bill Skarsgard).
Most prominent among those on a mission to commit clownicide are James McAvoy as Bill (now a famous writer), Bill Hader as Richie (now a famous stand-up comedian), and Jessica Chastain as Beverley (now on the run from an abusive husband).
Many lapses in urgency mean It Chapter
Two is not quite of the same rare, crowdqueasing calibre as its predecessor.
As for set-piece spook-’em’-ups, many trained eyes will spot some sequences are carrying visual effects that are not quite up to par.
However, all is forgiven once It Chapter
Two tightens the screws and the Losers close in on an overconfident (and, by this point, way oversized) Pennywise.
Will the clown go down? Or is a door left ajar for an It Chapter Three set at an old folks’ home 27 years from now?