IT Chapter Two is slightly better than the first movie mostly because I found the visuals to be more interesting, though still not scary and while I liked this ensemble, never really found much of an emotional connection.
IT: Chapter Two
(2019)
Genre(s): Horror, Supernatural
Warner Bros. | R – 169 min. – $44.95 | December 10, 2019
Date Published: 12/10/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Defeated by members of the Losers’ Club, the evil clown Pennywise returns 27 years later to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine, once again. Now adults, the childhood friends — Bill (JAMES MCAVOY), Beverly (JESSICA CHASTAIN), Richie (BILL HADER), Ben (JAY RYAN), Eddie (JAMES RANSONE) and Mike (ISAIAH MUSTAFA) — have long since gone their separate ways. But when people start disappearing, Mike calls the others home for one final stand. Damaged by scars from the past, the united Losers must conquer their deepest fears to destroy the shape-shifting Pennywise (BILL SKARSGARD) — now more powerful than ever. Review: At this point I might be a broken record but is worth repeating that I’ve never read a single Stephen King novel so going into any film or television series based on one of his works, I don’t have any sort of preconceptions and judge based on the work instead of how characters are portrayed or who portrays them. With that said, after watching the first IT movie released in 2017, I wasn’t overly impressed finding it filled with the clichéd jump scares which weren’t even all that scary, not to mention clowns are inherently creepy so can’t give the filmmakers, or actor Bill Skarsgård, that much credit on that front either. However, the one big positive I did take away was the tween actors were all really good and did make the film somewhat tolerable. Now a couple years later, the second part, entitled IT Chapter Two, flashing forward 27 years, we meet the Losers now as adults, and although this second chapter wasn’t all that great, and a bit lengthy too, I generally found the adult actors to fill the parts rather nicely, with perhaps Bill Hader almost stealing the show with a genuinely heartfelt performance. Even so, I did generally enjoy the other actors but, at least in terms of James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain, neither were what I’d call tremendous in their respective parts, but I guess gave just enough to where I gave a damn about them. In terms of Skarsgård as Pennywise, it’s more of the same, yeah he can be creepy but again, that sort of thing is built-in with clowns, still his interactions with the Losers was sometimes fun in a darkly way… Where this movie, albeit just barely, goes above its predecessor wasn’t necessarily the story, it was serviceable enough, but instead the visuals I found a bit more interesting to watch, particularly during the finale but also some of the creatures, a few marking their returns. Not going to say it makes up for the lackluster plot which still doesn’t make sense (kind of the norm nowadays for horror, no real set of rules to follow), and yet even with its astounding 169-minute running time, I can’t say I ever was bored or looking at the clock, so it did keep my attention even if I wasn’t fully engrossed in the plot. Andy Muschietti returns to the director’s chair and the style, at least from memory, is pretty much the same, keeping the darker elements alive but not so dank and dark to where you can’t see a damn thing. I haven’t seen Mama before so these to IT movies are all I can base his talents, but he does possess some talent, though still has the bad habit of other horror directors of utilize the jump scares, and here he seemed to have kept it to a minimum, thankfully. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.75/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Discs 1 (4K UHD) & 2 (Blu-ray): Disc 3 (Blu-ray): The Summers of IT: Chapter Two: IT Ends (39:30) covers this movie has some more BTS footage and interviews with the cast and filmmakers. Pennywise Lives Again (9:55) — This is a profile on the character for this second chapter with comments by Bill Skarsgard portraying him once again and the differences from one film to this. This Meeting of the Losers’ Club Has Official Begun (8:12) is a closer look at the casting of the adults. Finding the Deadlights (6:18) — Here we get an interview, with behind-the-scenes footage of his cameo, as he talks about the process of writing the novel and the inspirations behind it (so to speak). |
4K VIDEO – 5.0/5, BD VIDEO – 4.75/5 |
| Warner Bros. releases IT: Chapter Two onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray where it’s presented with a (as measured) 2.38 widescreen aspect ratio and 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers, respectively. Although this is a dark tone of a plot, with a killer clown and all, detail still is nice and sharp throughout and colors generally were bright and vibrant courtesy of the HDR, while black levels were stark, no more evident in one scene as Pennywise tries to lure a little girl underneath some bleachers and at times can only see his face. Comparing the 4K with the Blu-ray disc, I didn’t find a significant difference, perhaps not as sharp and an ever so slight drop in quality with the colors, but otherwise both of these look fantasic. |
AUDIO – 4.75/5 |
| Both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs come with a Dolby Atmos track which does sound great. There’s plenty to judge, with dialogue coming through with good clarity and the other channels being relegated for ambient noises (such as Pennywise taunting the Losers) as well as the, albeit unremarkable, score from Benjamin Walleisch, a composer I’m not familiar with. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Overall, IT Chapter Two is slightly better than the first movie mostly because I found the visuals to be more interesting, though still not scary and while I liked this ensemble, never really found much of an emotional connection. Still, guess it was a satisfying conclusion at least. This 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo pack includes some decent features to go along with fantastic video and audio transfers. |