Jakob Luna

Definitely liked this film. However, upon arriving back home with only about an hour to digest what I just saw, I can't tell how disappointed I truly am, since I do believe the movie was good. Being a huge Stephen King fan, I read the novel (more than once). I realize that for length reasons, some things are going to be left out, considering the novel is more than a thousand pages long. I also know that there are scenes that are lifted from the final cut for the same reasons. That being said, I would have to say that the beginning of It: Chapter Two seemed a tad rushed and made me extremely nervous for what was to come. Something that I was beyond excited for in this installment WAS the beginning of the story, where Mike makes the six calls to the Losers, who have trouble remembering It, but still seem terrified. I was especially excited to see what Muschietti was going to do with Stan's scene, which while reading the novel for the first time, scared me to my very core. However, it felt awfully quick for a setup to something so huge. These six phone calls are a significant part of the book and I would have liked to see more detail. While watching It in the theatre, I could have been convinced that I was actually there to see a comedy starring Bill Hader. Not only were there way too many jokes in the dialogue, but because of that, the tone of the movie led audience members who didn't take this movie as seriously as some of us King super-fans seemed to laugh at every single scene they found not to be scary. Another thing missing from the story, which played a crucial role in the book, were the spouses, namely Tom Rogan and Audra Phillips. Both of these characters are supposed follow their significant others to Derry, although they both have very different motives for doing so. Tom plans to follow Beverly to Derry and kill her, while Audra shows up simply because she is worried about Bill. Neither of these things happened (yet), and I believe not including them in the final cut robs the viewers of one of the best parts of this half of the story. Aside from all of this, the film is definitely a good one. Whether it's great or not is up for you to decide, it's still up in the air for me personally. The casting all-around was outstanding but what is great however, is Bill Hader as Richie Tozier. Hader plays the character almost flawlessly in what could be his first serious role. Another Bill to shine is, of course, is the magnificent Bill Skarsgard. Between the drool, the laugh, the voice, the dance, the purposeful lazy eye, or his bone-chilling smile, Skarsgard returns scarier than ever in the role of Pennywise delivering nightmares to a whole new generation. I would not be surprised to see the Academy give this man a well-deserved nod come Oscar time. Finally, James Ransone as Eddie Kaspbrack shines like silver stone. Not only does this actor embrace the role enough to be the living version of what you'd expected Eddie to be, but he also matches what seems like every tick and idiosyncrasy of his younger counterpart, Jack Dylan Glazer. All in all, if you are Stephen King fan, there's a chance you may be disappointed. Just keep in mind, there are talks of a super-cut to be made and released. Also, if you've read the bible-like novel, you should already know that this is not a story that you can fit in to three (or even six) hours. Muschietti comes back with a strong finish to an already outstanding beginning and I would definitely recommend checking this one out. I already plan to go and see It again.