It Chapter Two... Was Ok

So the other night I went to go see It: Chapter Two and… I’m conflicted with how I think of the film. I don’t plan to make film reviews a big part of this blog… partly because what I want to do is talk about films without worrying that someone reading what I’m going to write has spoilers. So spoiler warning to anyone who will be prospectively looking to watch this film… this is not the entry to read if you don’t want to be spoiled of key plot points.

So that being said, I generally liked the film. I read the book for the first time in high school and didn’t read it again until years later after part one of this duology came out. Despite the awkward parts such as the “display of affection” we’ll call it, It probably is my favourite novel by Stephen King in spite of its length.

Let me make this clear to anyone who has decided that they don’t need to read the book now that they’ve seen the films: these timelines are far different from the book. The timelines being told separately instead of intertwined; the 50’s to 80’s setting for the kids; the Ritual of Chud; I could go on but know that whilst this is definitely an adaptation of the novel it is not a one-to-one translation of it from book to screen in so many respects. I don’t hold this, in and of itself, against the film. After all adaptations require you to decide what worked in in one medium and won’t work in another. I encourage you to read the book if you want to experience the story the way that it was intended.

Instead of reviewing the film in full I wanted to list off some of the things I liked and some of the things I didn’t so you can see where I, as a big fan of the novel and previous film, stand.

Dislike: No Maturin

Maturin is one of the book’s aspects that I’ve found people who haven’t read it think you’re joking about. Maturin, the giant turtle with wide connections to the rest of King’s Macroverse and directly involved with the creation of It, didn’t feature in the film despite earlier reports suggesting that he would be present. Hearing that he was going to be present, and then not bringing him in, was disappointing. Yeah I bet a lot of people would have been surprised at a space turtle suddenly being introduced when it’s a film trying to be taken seriously and when I mentioned it to my flatmate after having seen the film she was determined that it would have “been a lot of kack”.

Here’s the thing though… the film already has some silly elements. The way they beat Pennywise is insulting? The convenient drug hallucination? The clown torso on a spider body? I fail to see how Maturin was too much. I turned to my friend, a fellow King lover, when Ben went back to school and there was a turtle figure and said “if Maturin doesn’t make it, that’s such a tease”. Well consider me teased.

Maturin is a weird part of the book, but he was part of King’s original work and you can’t tell me that having Bill or Richie reacting to him in the film (particularly with the actors cast) would not have been one of the absolute highlights. The general audience members would have felt that it was weird? Considering some of the alternative choices made that I saw elicit an “oh please” reaction, I fail to see how the giant space turtle was too far.

#releasethematurincut

Like: The Cast

The child actors from the first film were all fantastic, with Finn Wolfhard and Jack Dylan Grazer being the standouts for me. If the child actors had been bad I don’t think the film would have been praised in the slightest: the film rests on them and they carry it. The casting for the adult ‘Losers’ was going to be an essential aspect to this film working at all and I’m happy to report that I liked them all.

Whilst I was disappointed that Jason Bateman wasn’t cast as Bill (I still think he would have been the perfect choice for the role), James McAvoy continues to demonstrate that he is one of the most diverse actors working today. Jessica Chastain was unsurprisingly great because honestly when isn’t she. The actors playing Ben, Eddie and Stan were all good as well. The one I was most unsure of was Mike because I thought I was not going to be able to get over it being “The Old Spice Guy” but he was vulnerable enough to be completely convincing in the role.

Every review I’ve come across has praised Bill Hader in particular for his role as Richie Tozier and speaking as someone who declared that he should play adult Richie immediately after I saw the first film… he delivered on absolutely everything for the character. Between this and Barry I’m baffled that Bill Hader is still not the A-List actor that he deserves to be.

Dislike: The Length

The length, in and of itself, wasn’t a problem. The book is over 1,000 pages so to condense it into two average length films would have resulted in an unsatisfactory adaptation. For this reason, the decision to effectively split the two timelines (adults and kids) was a good idea, allowing the first film to serve as a standalone 80’s adventure film in a similar vain to Stranger Things. The fact that the two films together are five hours (this film alone being more than half of that runtime) is not the problem. My problem is that it was long and there were things that would have been better fitted in the bloated run time.

For every great scene involving Pennywise (see my next like) there was a formulaic one. The entirety of the Artefacts search was the same: Reminder of why this means something to them; jump scare; interaction with Pennywise and his alternate forms; escape and comments about how scary. I get that it’s meant to be the characters overcoming their individual fears and past, but it became really predictable. Eddie for example has a run-in with the Leper from the first film and it got to the point where not only did I know what was coming, but I was able to correctly predict the exact location where the Leper was going to come out and jump scare from. When I’m thinking more about the mechanics of how you are trying to scare me, instead of being genuinely invested in the scene, the scene just serves to pad the runtime.

You could have cut out Henry Bowers entirely. He is involved in both timelines in the original book… but his arc had been written in such a way in the first film that he could have easily not been in this second film. For those that don’t remember, he ends up falling down the well towards Pennywise at the end of the first film. They show where he ended up but it would have been so easy to just show his dead body or a missing person poster and cut him out. His scenes just inflated the run time and removing them would have either made the film more streamlined or given you more time for the Losers themselves.

Like: The Hall of Mirrors Scene

Even knowing that Bill was not going to be able to save the kid he was trying to save from Pennywise, the scene was tense. What made it work more than the other set-pieces was the disorientation. It’s preceded by clown dummies going back and forth and knocking Bill over. I’d be shocked if the similar look and feel of The Killing Joke was coincidence.

I’ve never been in a proper hall of mirrors. I’ve been in the small ones that you get at a tiny fair sure, but they were very linear… probably so deliberately so that kids didn’t get lost and scared in there. This scene nailed the disorientation that I’m sure people go through when they’re in a hall of mirrors. It added to the tension because it’s not like Bill could have simply run faster and reached the kid. It increased the feelings of both urgency and panic, making it one of the best thrilling scenes I’ve seen in a long time.

Dislike: Stan

So the actor playing Stan was good for the short time he was present. The character’s adult version is not a big presence in the book so this is not a criticism of the film. What really got me annoyed was how they changed his motivation. In the book, and the set up from the original film, Stan is the distant character. He has what seems to be an underlying disdain for Bill and is the weakest of the group… which says a lot considering Eddie. His decision to kill himself rather than face It is a major aspect of the character: unlike the rest of the characters who eventually learn to overcome their fear and come together, Stan has to decide whether to break his promise or face his fears… to which he eventually gives in. It’s a great dynamic and makes for great drama with the other characters: was the promise to remain pointless and if Stan saw it fit to go back on his promise, why shouldn’t they?

In this film they make his suicide a selfless act for the benefit of his old friends which for me was trying too hard to make the character more likeable. Early in the film Bill comments about his endings not being happy because “life isn’t like that” and I wish the film had reflected that instead of trying to make each character’s ending happy. I just don’t think that it was necessary. I know people might say that they needed all of the Losers to be involved in the killing of It… but we already got the scene where Richie gets inspired to fight with his friends after being inspired by Stan’s words at his Bar Mitzvah. It would have been far more powerful for the Losers to know that whilst Stan was selfish in his suicide anyone of them could have done the same and acknowledge it as a human response. Narratively I simply could not get behind it.

Like: Richdie

Despite liking the film I found it far easier to list things I disliked in the film than I didn’t. In my last dislike I mentioned the change in the book regarding Stan. I’ve always been one to allow changes from the book that make sense, and the change that stood out to me was the relationship between Richie and Eddie. We don’t get confirmation as to how physical the relationship was, or even if Eddie specifically reciprocated Richie’s feelings. The thing is… that worked for the film. Richie’s sexuality that he hid from the group was vague and considering that in-universe it was the secret he didn’t want getting out there, it makes sense that there was no revelation as to what it meant. When he’s crying at the end (masterful acting by Hader) you gauge just how much he cared for Eddie. It was done so well and let you make your own inferences. The scene would have been jeopardised if there was a monologue explaining it, and I’m glad they restrained themselves.

Concluding Thoughts:

It was always going to be a very difficult book to adapt to film or TV. Considering the sheer length of it, as well as content that varies from abstract to questionable we were never going to get a literal translation of the book to the screen. Despite my disappointment that I didn’t get to see Maturin, the films need to be judged on their own merits and not how loyal it was to every story point from the books.

Where these films (mostly) succeed is in the presentation of It as a playful and powerful foe, and the believable friendship for its cast of characters. Differences in the story aside, the strength and chemistry of the cast carried the spirit of the novel to leave me a satisfied watcher.

I have no doubt that we will eventually get another adaptation of the book 10 to 20 years from now because of the nature of Hollywood and modern day storytelling. Pennywise is just far too well-known in pop culture to let the role end here. I’ve heard the director suggest that there is far more mythology which could be used in a prequel story which would hopefully include Maturin… but who knows if general audiences will show up for it. Truth be told though, I doubt we’ll get that story.

We live in a world where Lord of the Rings is getting an Amazon series again which is set in the world of Middle-Earth and may/may not be an adaptation of the books it is named after. When studios are far more happy to try to force The Hobbit to be The Lord of the Rings instead of adapting The Silmarillion, I don’t there’s enough perceived sufficient interest to tell the more risky stories.

These particular versions of It came about because of the nostalgia craze for the 1980’s and was met with the same success and applause that greeted Stranger Things. The first film worked out splendid and the second one had mixed results, but I’m fond of the two films and think that these are the best adaptations we are ever going to get of the book. And, if I’m being completely honest, I’d rather we leave this story here. Release any footage available of Maturin, and let’s give other horror stories that haven’t had their pop culture shot a chance.

#wheresmaturin