It Chapter Two, the anticipated follow-up to the hit 2017 movie It has arrived at theatres. Set 27 years after the first film, the Losers Club must get back together when Pennywise the Dancing Clown returns after being defeated by the Losers at the end of the first film. Having a weaker story and less emotional impact, It Chapter Two fails to reach the heights of its 2017 predecessor.

What is likely the greatest thing about It Chapter Two is its cast. Standout performances include Bill Hader as Richie, James Ransone as Eddie, and Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. Each member of the Losers Club looks like they are a grown-up version of their child counterparts from the first film. Bill Skarsgård gives another brilliant and unsettling performance that will have you uncomfortably squirming in your seat every second he’s on screen. He manages to steal every scene he’s in with his chilling line delivery and charisma. The Losers Club still has excellent chemistry with each other as well. While their connection may not be quite as entertaining as it was in the first movie, the Losers still have hilarious and occasional heartwarming bonds with each other that will keep viewers entertained through the entire film.

All that said, the movie does have quite a few negative traits to it. Its biggest problem is that it has a lengthy runtime of 2 hours and 50 minutes. There isn’t enough plot to justify the runtime. The second act can be very repetitive as it features each of the Losers going to a part of town to get something with meaning to them. There is a scene for each Loser that follows the same format. They go to whatever location they need to, they have a flashback to their childhood, then Pennywise shows up and scares them. None of these scenes are particularly bad. To be honest, some are quite well-made and entertaining. However, this takes up approximately 40-50 minutes of the runtime, and it gets repetitive very quickly. Quite honestly, if someone left during any of these scenes to go to the bathroom or get a snack, they would be able to come back after the scene and not have to worry about missing anything crucial. 

The film also would certainly have benefited from cutting out certain scenes. The character of Henry Bowers returns, but unlike the first film where he had an actual character arc and would have an effect on the plot in this movie could’ve been completely cut out of the movie and the main plot would’ve been unchanged. He’s a pointless character that only shows up for one or two fun scenes, and to unnecessarily increase the runtime further. 

Something else that the film lacks when compared to its 2017 counterpart is the absence of a coming of age story. Watching the Losers as pre-teens grow further into adulthood was one of the greatest parts of the first movie. Now that they are already adults in this film, this aspect is completely scratched. Sadly, this makes for a group of mostly static main characters. Therefore, viewers are nowhere near as invested with these characters when compared with their younger counterparts. Both movies are all about facing your fears and coming together as a team. However, these themes work much better in the first film when the main cast are pre-teens rather than adults, especially when they were able to incorporate the coming of age story.

All in all, It Chapter Two is an ambitious movie that doesn’t hit as high as it aims to. While still an entertaining enough film with a handful of great performances, it unfortunately, suffers from a lengthy runtime, repetitive middle act, and a far better predecessor.  It’s a film that’s good enough to be worth seeing, but when compared to the first film, it ends up as a disappointment. It will leave you craving more from it than what it gives, and because of this, It Chapter Two sinks more than it floats.

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