According to the Internet Movie Database, there were forty four remakes, sequels or reboots released, or are to be released, in 2017 alone. For those of you who are bad at math, that’s almost one per week. Why we as a society keep revisiting stories that have been told time and time again is beyond me. It, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, is the most recent to follow this trend.

The film tells the story of an outbreak of cases of missing children in the same town of Derry, Maine during the summer of 1989. It opens much like the original, with the young Georgie losing his paper boat down a storm drain. If you’ve seen the original or read the book, you know where this is going. I will say that this was the most tense and unsettling scene in the entire film. This is primarily due to the amazing performance of Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock Grove, Atomic Blonde) as Pennywise, the dancing clown.

Not since Heath Ledger’s turn as the Joker has someone taken a role previously played by another actor and truly made it their own; breaking the mold and exceeding all expectations. Even without saying a word, Pennywise is creepy as hell and sure to give anyone with a fear of clowns plenty of nightmares for the rest of their lives. While the character is featured prominently throughout the film and steals the show any time he is featured, he is simply not in the film enough.

With a running time over two hours, you’ll see Pennywise for approximately 30 minutes of it; mostly during the climax. The remainder of the film follows “The Loser Club,” a group of young friends that are social outcasts and spend their free time exploring sewers and evading the local bullies. While the young group of actors displays a wealth of talent, especially Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), the writing and pacing is extremely lacking.

Most of the film is spent dealing with horrors our heroes face that are not so supernatural, such as abusive parents or the previously mentioned bullies. I found it strange that out of a group of more than five kids, you only see a small number of their parents throughout the film. I’m unsure if the parents are taking a page from the Liam Neeson book of parenting or really were that uninvolved in their kid’s lives, but it distracts from the story. Additionally, 2 of 2 dad’s you meet in the film are portrayed as pedophiles, which does little to confirm whether the kids were really seeing Pennywise or they were using him as a scapegoat for their fears.

Unlike some of my GBG comrades, I am not a fan of the 80’s, but I was able to recognize a number of callbacks and small details that did make the film feel authentic. From the music, cars, costume design and set pieces, the 80’s setting is believable. Even down to the Molly Ringwald-ish looking Sophia Lillis, this feels like a movie released circa 1989.

You’ve likely already decided if you are going to go see It or not, but as someone who holds high respect for the original, I found the remake to be lackluster on most fronts. I would strongly recommend that if you are interested in seeing the film, wait until it’s released at your local Red Box.

4 out of 10

Pros

• Pennywise Is Amazing
• Finn Wolfhard
• Realistic 80’s Atmosphere

Cons

• Poor Pacing
• Poor Editing
• Too Focused on Bullies and Child Molesters

It was written by Chase Palmer and directed by Andy Muschietti. It was released in theaters on September 8th, 2017. The film was not provided to us for viewing.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth your time, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great movie that you can feel confident about paying money to see in theaters or at home. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate movies, please let us know.

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