It Chapter Two

It Chapter Two chooses horror tropes over emotions, halting drama for lengthy and redundant scare sequences. There's bulky exposition, ill-timed comedy, undeveloped arcs, poor setup/payoff, unclear rules, stagnant characters, dead-end MacGuffins, contrivances, and inconsistencies. This builds to an obnoxious climax that becomes so chaotic, it loses sight of the themes, tone, and even genre. The threat is vague, the substance is isolated, and the story is a cluttered mess. Its acting attempts chemistry, range, vulnerability, subtlety, and intensity, but even that's sidelined by broad cliches. Consequently, Chapter Two spins its wheels as a bloated, aimless, and oddly thin retread.

Technically, Chapter Two is less with more. Its direction is forced, surreal, erratic, exhausting, impersonal, and formulaic. The imagery adds motion, focus, angles, lighting, framing, and a murky finale. Its editing offers an erroneous runtime, meandering structure, no momentum, and repetitive filler. The sound uses split cuts, emphasis, stings, symbolism, action, smash cuts, and voiceovers. Its music is creepy, distorted, generic, and awkward. The production design often looks goofy and ugly. Its bright spot cast combines the returning kids with great adults. The effects go overboard with mediocre CGI. Overall, It Chapter Two lacks the intimacy, restraint, or insight to connect.

Writing: 3/10

Direction: 4/10

Cinematography: 6/10

Acting: 7/10

Editing: 5/10

Sound: 7/10

Score/Soundtrack: 5/10

Production Design: 6/10

Casting: 9/10

Effects: 7/10

Overall Score: 5.9/10