{"id":19022,"date":"2019-09-05T13:59:50","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T20:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=19022"},"modified":"2019-09-05T13:59:50","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T20:59:50","slug":"it-chapter-two-isnt-as-scary-as-part-one-but-still-makes-for-an-entertaining-chiller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=19022","title":{"rendered":"IT CHAPTER TWO Isn\u2019t as Scary as Part One, But Still Makes for an Entertaining Chiller"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It has been two years since the release of It<\/em>,\nan adaptation of Stephen King\u2019s 1986 novel. The film became a blockbuster and grossed\nmore than $700 million dollars worldwide on a relatively small budget. The\nfollow-up arrives this week and is likely critic-proof as those who went to the\noriginal picture will no doubt line up to see how it all plays out. Admittedly,\nIt Chapter Two<\/em> isn\u2019t quite as effective as the previous entry, but it\nstill features some entertaining moments and a finale that will satisfy horror\nfans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It has been 27 years after the supernatural\nchild-devouring clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd) was defeated by a band of\noutcast children. In the years since, each has gone their separate ways. But after\nstrange events start up once again in Derry, the adult gang are called back to\nreunite against the evil force. However, time, distance and supernatural\nfactors have caused some of them to forget what they went through. And when\nthey begin to recall events and find themselves in mortal danger, some are more\ninclined to leave town than revisit their childhood traumas. But as each are\nattacked once again, they all realize that they have little choice but to try\nand finish Pennywise off for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This follow-up is a bit too lengthy for its own good,\nrunning at close to three hours. Additionally, there are extra flashbacks with\nthe younger cast as the older members try to remember more of their past. Only\nthis time, these earlier interactions aren\u2019t as urgent or threatening as the\nadventures depicted in the previous picture. It isn\u2019t as frightening a flick either,\nalthough the issues that make it less chilling are unavoidable. While there\u2019s\nsomething inherently distressing about seeing a killer clown target, terrorize and\ndevour innocent and fragile children, it\u2019s a slightly tougher sell to see\nsharper, more physically able adults face off against the same figure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In fact, the filmmakers seem to acknowledge this and\nhave their heroes wisecrack more often while being terrorized. As a result, this\nis actually a much funnier movie than its predecessor. In particular, Richie\n(Bill Hader) is given many opportunities to comment amusingly on the horrors being\nendured. Sharp observations delivered by this character hit the mark, although\nthe film does occasionally try to inject humor from others at more awkward and\ninappropriate moments (particularly during a scene involving some black bile).\nSome of the stranger interjections hurt the picture, resulting in a lower\nnumber of jolts and jumps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides Richie, other standout characters in the piece\ninclude the adult Bill (James McAvoy), Beverly (Jessica Chastain) and Ben (Jay\nRyan), who are all still suffering from various neurosis and unfinished\nbusiness that, even decades later, have yet to be resolved. They all acquit\nthemselves well, even selling a few ruminations about the past and a couple of\nborderline corny moments involving personal relationships. These fine actors\nmanage to pull it off and keep the drama afloat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And although this sequel isn\u2019t as scary, there are a\nfew chills to be had. There is a scene involving the clown enticing a youngster\nunder a bleacher stand that is eerie. And the movie includes excellent visuals that\ninclude a group member facing off against a violent Paul Bunyan statue, and\nanother confrontation between a character and Pennywise inside a carnival\nfunhouse. And those who remember the original miniseries based on the book will\nfind the climax to be far more efficiently and excitingly handled in this film\nadaptation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most who take in the movie will admit that it takes a\nbit of time for the story to get up to speed and has more difficulty sustaining\ntension, but these problems may be a result of following the source material\ntoo closely. While it could stand to be trimmed and doesn\u2019t always send chills\ndown the spine, it\u2019s engaging and generally works. It Chapter Two<\/em>\ndoesn\u2019t read like a masterpiece, but still provides enough thrills to finish\noff the horror epic with effectiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been two years since the release of It, an adaptation of Stephen King\u2019s 1986 novel. The film became a blockbuster and grossed more than $700 million dollars worldwide on a relatively small budget. The follow-up arrives this week and is likely critic-proof as those who went to the original picture will no doubt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[197,2739,3295,4542,9319,9330,10003,10004,10005,10006,10007,10245,10473,10648,15907,19051],"class_list":["post-19022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-197","tag-bill-hader","tag-book-adaptation","tag-clown","tag-horror","tag-horror-movie","tag-it-chapter-2","tag-it-chapter-two","tag-it-chapter-two-film-review","tag-it-chapter-two-movie-review","tag-it-chapter-two-review","tag-james-mcavoy","tag-jay-ryan","tag-jessica-chastain","tag-pennywise","tag-stephen-king"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}