There's a running motif throughout It Chapter 2, in which a character who plays a writer doesn't know how to end a story. I couldn't think of a more appropriate (albeit too self-aware) way to describe this movie. It Chapter 2 was always going to struggle with its finish, the way the 1990s miniseries did and (I'm told) the book does. I had high hopes that the phenomenal team behind the 2017 remake would be able to write the ship, but alas, they weren't. It Chapter 2 is a mixed bag of scares and cheese that never quite finds itself.
It Chapter 2 picks up 27 years after the events of the first movie. The creature that haunts Derry is back and at it again. People are once again going missing and its up to the Loser's Club to fulfill their youthful promise and return to put away Pennywise The Clown once and for all. As you can imagine, the gang is hesitant to return. They eventually do return and we're treated to a bunch of up and down performances. The "famous" actors (James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and the movie-stealing Bill Hader) are given the meatiest roles, while the other actors don't quite live up to the others on the top of the marquee. The Losers' time away from Derry has caused them to forget the events of the past, so most of the first half of the movie is a catch-up of sorts, where the grown ups have to confront their past in order to gain the power to fight Pennywise. The scares in these scenes, while formulaic, are some of the better moments of the movie. Once these acts are completed, it's time for the final battle with the killer clown (portrayed, once again, by the fantastic Bill Skarsgard).
This is where the movie really struggles. Most of the pre-release buzz about the movie dealt with the nearly three-hour run time. I didn't notice it much during the first 2/3rds of the movie, but the "final" sequence (which in reality is about 20 "final" sequences) is where the movie drags. I haven't read the book, but this movie apparently stuck fairly close to it. I would have preferred a re-write that got Chapter 2 to a better, more succinct ending.
Another issue I had with this movie is the off and on CGI that filled some of the horror sequences. There were breathtaking moments, for sure, but there were also a lot of "cheap" looking effects. It took me out of the movie a decent amount of the time. It's like they ran out of money for the special effects and just tried to patchwork certain scenes together. The kids from the first movie appear a lot in this one in flashbacks and they used de-aging special effects on them to make them look like they did 2 years ago. It was quite distracting, and something that I wish they had avoided.
I didn't hate Chapter 2, but I certainly felt it could have been better. Skarsgard's Pennywise is in a league of its own, and the marquee actors (particularly Bill Hader) shine during large chunks of the film. However, it wasn't enough to save Chapter 2 from its meandering ending that was at times too cheesy for its own good.
