It is getting universal praise and reviews and stands to set all-time records for a film released in September. Buuuut not to be a message board moaner but I had a few problems with it.
For one, it might have actually been too funny. The dialogue is so funny in the scenes that are not scary that when we get the scary scenes, it creates a weird tone imbalance. This smooths out towards the end, but for awhile it was "funny scene with kids" and "scary scene with individual kid" alternating back and forth in a really choppy way.
Spoilers (also involving the old miniseries)
I also didn't really like how the movie avoided explaining how Pennywise works or what is even going on in Derry in much detail. The original miniseries is overwrought and melodramatic, but it does a good job of explaining the lore and how this monster works. Even in the final battle in the sewer, the inhaler that Eddie has is used in a way that explains how the monster works - that if you BELIEVE it is battery acid, then it will hurt him. This also makes Eddie's character trait of being a hypochondriac serve the larger story. But in this one, they just kind of all go in together and beat the shit out of him and nothing much is learned at all. Bev also gets hit with deadlights and yet is immediately snapped out of it with a kiss (making the threat of deadlights kind of toothless).
The sequel could remedy all of this, and it might be better to use that to explain how it all works and just focus this one on developing several different characters. I enjoyed the hell out of it, it wasn't boring and it was visually well done. But the charm of the dialogue masked a lot of its clunkier moments.
that if you BELIEVE it is battery acid, then it will hurt him.
They did something like that though. That Gun thing that Mike brought with them, they were yelling at Bill that it wasn't Loaded, but Bill believed it was loaded, so it hurt Pennywise.
that if you BELIEVE it is battery acid, then it will hurt him.
They did something like that though. That Gun thing that Mike brought with them, they were yelling at Bill that it wasn't Loaded, but Bill believed it was loaded, so it hurt Pennywise.
I forgot about that. But it blended in so much with all the violence they were doing to the clown in general, that the detail that they were hurting it only because they believed to be was a little overlooked. I'll give it credit for showing it a little bit. And honestly having Bill be the one that discovers this is better since Bill is the one that does stay in Derry and further investigates It. Makes more sense from a character perspective. I guess I'll divert my criticism to how it focused too much on being an action fight rather than the spookiness and atmosphere of Pennywise's lair and what it all meant.