It’s been 27 years since the Losers went their separate ways after fighting Pennywise the clown. They weren’t sure if they killed Pennywise or not, but they swore they would return to face him if he ever came back. The Losers moved on with their lives and forgot about it. All except for Mike Hanlon. The year is 2016, and people are going missing again. It’s a sign saying Pennywise has returned. The Losers come together even though they don’t remember much, except for the fear Pennywise gave them.
Blaine: Seeing “IT: Chapter 1” in the theater was one of the best experiences I had in seeing a movie because it felt like this big blockbuster. It was opening weekend and when the movie was over and it said “IT Chapter 1” everyone was clapping. Right then and there I wanted to see “Chapter II”. I was a little distracted in seeing “IT Chapter II”, even though it should have felt big after waiting two years to see it continue, but I just moved to Los Angeles and it’s a lot to take in. However seeing “IT Chapter 2” did help because I was nervous and I was seeing characters who were nervous about things too. Andres Muschietti, who directed the first chapter of “IT”, was going to do the sequel and he wanted to make sure “Chapter II” was as good as the first movie. There was the question on who was going to play adult versions of the Losers club.
The young actors of the first movie had suggestions on who should play their characters in the sequel. Two of them got their wish. Sophia Lillis, who played Beverly Marsh, wanted Jessica Chastain to play the character as an adult because Jessica Chastain is a very talented actress. Jessica Chastain herself was all for being involved with the next chapter because she thought Sophia did a terrific job with her performance as Beverly and she wanted to continue Beverly’s journey. Jessica had worked with director Andres Muschietti before on his first feature, “Mama”, so she was happy to be working with him again.
Another actor who got his wish was Finn Woldhard (Stranger Things). Finn’s character Richie Tozier is the comedian of the group and Finn thought someone funny like Bill Hader should play older Richie. Bill Hader has been called a scene stealer in this movie, but to me it felt like the movie focussed on all the main characters equally.
James McAvoy is a talented actor. He’s one of those actors who can play any character because he puts so much into his performance. I know because he’s played various different characters in “Split” and “Glass”. James McAvoy plays Bill Denbrough in “Chapter II” and Bill was the leader of the Losers club when they were kids. It was Bill who made the Losers swear they would fight Pennywise if he returned, but as an adult he doesn’t know what that means anymore. Mike Hanlon feels like he has taken charge of the group because he is the one who has brought the Losers together and has an idea for how to put an end to Pennywise. Anyway, Bill has severe speech impediment, which means he has trouble speaking a few words, and James McAvoy was able to make it convincing that he could hardly speak at times.
The other actors who were hired to play adult versions of the rest of the Losers, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Isaiah Mustafa, look like they could really pass as adult versions of Jeremy Ray Taylor, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff and Chosen Jacobs in real life. It’s amazing that Andy Muschietti and his casting director were able to find actors who’s looks can resemble those young actors.
This new ensemble studied their characters by watching the performances of the young actors in the first movie. They also spent time with the young actors who were in “Chapter 1”. The actors who play the adult versions did an amazing job with their performances. I could feel the personalities of the young actors in these adult versions. Jessica Chastain however I feel did something a little different with Beverly. Young Beverly was the tomboyish type, who smiled a lot, brave, but her life was also troubling at times because of her perverted father. Beverly was always happy to be with the Losers though. In “Chapter II”, Beverly is a little more quiet and dramatic. Like Mike Hanion, Beverly has had trouble moving on after Pennywise used some kind of hypnotic spell on her. Beverly has sensed the future in her sleep and it is not pretty. She can see death.
The original cast, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff and Chosen Jacobs, are the stars of this franchise. These characters are popular because they brought them to life. They returned for “Chapter II” for scenes that are flashbacks. By the time “Chapter II” started filming, the young actors had aged by two years and their looks had changed a bit, so digital effects were needed to make them look younger again. A lot of kids look up to adults that are inspiring, but for “IT Chapter II” it’s the adults who are following the footsteps of kids.
Another character that is popular in this franchise is Pennywise the Clown, played by Bill Skarsgard. Bill wasn’t sure if he was doing a good enough job while making “Chapter 1” and he was afraid he wouldn’t be returning for the sequel. Truth is Bill is meant to play this character. He brings an original performance into Pennywise. When Bill first got the part he wanted to bring Pennywise to life his own way without having to base his performance on something else. Not the first time an actor would do that to bring a creepy clown character to life. Heath Ledger did the same with the Joker for “The Dark Knight”.
Beverly is and always has been the only female of the Losers club and in “Chapter 1” both Bill Denbrough and Ben Hanscom had a huge crush on her. Beverly was the very first person to show Ben kindness when he moved to Derry, Maine and he has loved her ever since. Beverly has been the only woman for Ben. And then for Bill it looked like love at first site when his eyes saw Beverly for the very first time. She was glowing. Bill and Beverly became close during their childhood. Ben wrote a romantic poem for Beverly and it was a mystery to her of who wrote it. She hoped it was Bill who wrote it.
Ben stole a kiss from Beverly to knock her out of Pennywise’s hypnotic spell and she figured out that it was Ben who wrote the poem.
When the Losers said goodbye to each other, Bill couldn’t let Beverly leave without expressing his feelings for her, so he kissed her and she kissed back. That left the question on who gets Beverly in the end? They saw other people and got married.
Beverly’s marriage isn’t so great. She married a man who resembles her horrible father. I guess Beverly was in a desperate situation and he was able to help, but it came with a cost. Beverly finds the strength to leave him when it is time for the Losers to reunite. Ben Hanscom is very successful as an adult. I guess spending a lot of time studying in the library during the summer helped. But what good is to be successful if you don’t have a special someone to share a life with. Ben really tries to get close to Beverly in “Chapter II” more than he did when they were kids. Because their memories aren’t that clear, Beverly can’t remember that it was Ben who wrote the poem she loves so much.
Bill has forgotten the emotional pain he felt when Pennywise killed his little brother, Georgie. Bill kept blaming himself for Georgie’s death because he wasn’t there when he needed him. Now that Bill has returned Pennywise keeps rubbing it in his face, which gets Bill even more upset. Bill realizes how much he cares and what taking down Pennywise means to him.
Bill meets a kid who lives in his old house and he is one of Pennywise’s next targets. Bill warns the kid to ignore anything he hears or sees that may seem unusual, but Pennywise succeeds in getting the boy and killing him. Bill has had enough of Pennywise.
It’s best to leave the past behind you, but there are some things in life that are nice to revisit. The Losers were a bunch of misfits who got bullied by others, but they weren’t alone because they had each other. They also understood each other better than everyone else, including their own families. They were a team.
Stephen King has only made two cameos in two movies based on his books, “Pet Cemetery”, the original 1989 version, and “IT Chapter 2”. He doesn’t do the Stan Lee thing where you make a cameo in every single one of the movies based on your material. Stephen King’s cameo in “Chapter 2” is the guy who owns an antique shop where Bill goes to buy a bike like the one he used to have.
Stanley Uris is the only member of the Losers club who choses suicide instead of being a team player. When it’s time to return to Derry, Stanley goes into his tub a slits his wrist. Later in the film when the Losers enter the creepy house Pennywise stays in, it shows Stanley’s head and it turns into this spider like creature. It reminded me a lot of one of the mutants from the 1982 film “The Thing”.
I’ve seen the miniseries version of “IT” from 1990, so I know what to expect, but these two movies are different adaptations compared to that miniseries, so even though it’s the same story it can be written in a different way.
Pennywise is this creature from somewhere else, like probably another planet, and he’s a shape shifter. He takes on these scary forms because scaring people and killing them is his purpose in life, but his favorite is being a clown. Then he’ll go into hibernation for 27 years. In the miniseries of “IT”, Pennywise’s true form was this giant crab like creature and the effects were mechanical and stop motion. A lot of things have enhanced since then in cinema. With today’s computer effects you can do anything that seems impossible to see. Of course a lot of people still have use for old fashioned stuff, which is good. Pennywise in “Chapter II” will take on many different forms during the final showdown between him and the Losers.
The Losers discover where Pennywise has been hiding this whole time and Pennywise tries to torture them separately by putting them in their own nightmare. There’s an Easter egg from another popular Stephan King material, “The Shinning”. When Beverly is stuck in this women’s restroom with blood rising, various people Beverly hated in life keep trying to break through the door and one of them says “Here’s Johnny”, which was Jack Nicholson’s famous line from “The Shinning”. Ben and Beverly are both drowning. He’s being buried in dirt and she’s drowning in blood. It’s at that moment that Ben finally speaks the truth about how he really feels about Beverly. That she is the love of his life and always has been. Love saves them both and Beverly remembers that it was Ben who wrote that romantic poem.
Richie keeps acting like he doesn’t care. He’s achieved his dream at being a comedian, but there’s more to life than being funny. He would be nothing if he didn’t have friends and deep down he has a heart. Richie almost chickens out, but he passes by the church where Stanley had his bar mitzvah and remembers the speech Stanley gave about who he is and that he is ok with it. That was inspiring for Richie and that puts him back in the game. Bill Hader shows a lot of heart in Richie, especially at the end. One of the members of the Losers club, Eddie, is killed by Pennywise, which it showed in the miniseries too, and it’s hard on Richie. Richie would make fun of Eddie a lot, but he was just playing with him. I think Richie thought of Eddie as his best friend and that’s why he takes Eddie’s death harder than the rest of the members.
The ending is all about these characters facing their fears if they peace in their lives. They were brave enough to take on Pennywise when they were just kids and they are doing it again as adults. How the Losers defeated Pennywise in the miniseries was taking out the creature’s heart and they did it like violent savages. In “Chapter II”, the Losers weaken Pennywise by saying he’s nothing. They don’t have to be afraid of him as long as they choose not to. They take his heart out of his chest, only this heart is smaller compared to the miniseries, and crush it.
Mike has spent years obsessing over Pennywise, waiting for his return and prepping up so he could be defeated. Now that the nightmare is officially over he has finally found peace and can finally move on with his life for the very first time. It’s good to be free of Pennywise forever. People move on from a lot in life. Happy memories, old relationships, embarrassing moments and things that haunt them. Bill and Beverly certainly have moved on and that’s ok because Ben is someone Beverly deserves more. The “IT” franchise is not just a horror movie, it’s also about how friendship matters.
My rating on “IT Chapter II” is five out of five stars
