After being trapped in development hell for nearly a decade, director Andy Muschietti and writer Gary Dauberman finally brought Stephen King's beloved novel It to the big screen in September 2017 with tremendous results. It won widespread raves for Bill Skarsgard's performance as the iconic killer clown Pennywise and the believable dynamic between the preteen protagonists that team up to fight this mythical shape-shifting monster. The rare scare/heart combo It possessed allowed it to transcend the genre in an unprecedented way at the box office-bringing in an astonishing $124 mil in its opening weekend in the U.S./Canada and eventually going onto become the highest grossing horror movie of all time worldwide ($700 mil). That winning formula disappeared faster than the children of Derry, Maine during Pennywise's feeding season in the conclusion to the It saga-which is a jarring, largely underwhelming horror flick that betrays the spirit of its predecessor.
Apparently the 27 year time jump was enough to suck the life out of everything that made this universe effective. A group of empathetic misfit teenagers bound together by their shared trauma are now just a bunch of cold adult strangers whose connection is rendered nonexistent by the passing of time. A menacing villain that preys on the fears of children has been reduced to a corny CGI funhouse that sets long-winded, unconvincing traps for the adults who return to Derry to kill him. A deft horror/comedy balance has devolved into a string of pitiful jump scare attempts and awkwardly-placed jokes that aren't even remotely funny. There's just no sense of cohesion, craftsmanship or passion behind this film, and it makes the entire thing feel like a half-assed, soulless effort that only exists to fulfill a contract with the studio.
It's truly astounding that It Chapter Two was made by the same people behind the original. This is the type of sizable regression that's typically reserved for when new blood comes in and craps all over the vision of the original creators. Perhaps Muschietti and Dauberman were just so delighted to receive a raise that they decided to mail it in for the entire production process or like adult Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy), who has become a successful novelist, they just happen to have a gift for squandering promising stories with weak conclusions. Whatever the cause, this remains a staggeringly uninspired, below average movie that deserves to be cited as a prime example of how to butcher a franchise finale for years to come.
Apparently the 27 year time jump was enough to suck the life out of everything that made this universe effective. A group of empathetic misfit teenagers bound together by their shared trauma are now just a bunch of cold adult strangers whose connection is rendered nonexistent by the passing of time. A menacing villain that preys on the fears of children has been reduced to a corny CGI funhouse that sets long-winded, unconvincing traps for the adults who return to Derry to kill him. A deft horror/comedy balance has devolved into a string of pitiful jump scare attempts and awkwardly-placed jokes that aren't even remotely funny. There's just no sense of cohesion, craftsmanship or passion behind this film, and it makes the entire thing feel like a half-assed, soulless effort that only exists to fulfill a contract with the studio.
It's truly astounding that It Chapter Two was made by the same people behind the original. This is the type of sizable regression that's typically reserved for when new blood comes in and craps all over the vision of the original creators. Perhaps Muschietti and Dauberman were just so delighted to receive a raise that they decided to mail it in for the entire production process or like adult Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy), who has become a successful novelist, they just happen to have a gift for squandering promising stories with weak conclusions. Whatever the cause, this remains a staggeringly uninspired, below average movie that deserves to be cited as a prime example of how to butcher a franchise finale for years to come.
Grade: C-
No comments:
Post a Comment