IT (2017) review
I was pretty hyped to see this movie. I had caught glimpses of the TV series when I was really young, was absolutely terrified of the clown and bathroom scene with Bev, watched the miniseries again when I was 11, then read the book, and spent about a month or two obsessed with the story and characters. I'd get up early and watch the miniseries every morning, re-read the book, and to this day it's my favorite Stephen King story. So yeah, I was cautiously excited.
My short review of the remake is: good movie, meh adaptation. It does some things right and gets others really, really wrong. Personally, I like the miniseries more.
What I liked:
+ Excellent acting for Bill, Bev, Richie, Eddie, and Pennywise. I totally bought each of those characters. With Bill I could tell from the trailers he'd be good, but he sold the hell out of Bill's connection with Georgie. Really felt for him, I like his Bill just as much as Jonathan Brandis's Bill (RIP). Bev's actress sold me on her bravery, she nailed that 'tough' attitude that miniseries Bev didn't quite have, while maintaining a soft, vulnerable quality that made it easy to empathize with her. Richie impressed me; I was expecting to not like him compared to Seth Green's Richie. I still prefer Green's Richie, but his 2017 counterpart nailed all his jokes, the awkward Voices, and his overall delivery. Eddie's actor was on par with the miniseries version of Eddie - both of them had that vulnerable aspect. Points to current Eddie's actor for being more natural and fluid. I actually forgot about Tim Curry's performance and thought Skarsgard was just as threatening, in a different way. There was something very unsettling about his eyes and smile, especially how he didn't blink.
+ Some great scares. My favorite was when Pennywise came through the projection wall. That one actually got me screaming!
+ Excellent visual effects, especially with Pennywise's teeth. LOVED the rows of teeth and rotating Deadlights. Great way to update the Deadlights without pushing that too much in the first chapter
+ Good sense of camaraderie with the 7 kids, which is an essential aspect of the book. I think the miniseries did it better overall, but this version did it well too, in the time they had. I was the most wary about this aspect and was pleasantly satisfied with it
+ Good sense of setting. I felt like it was the 80's, with the music, clothing and cars, and I appreciate the shift into the future. It makes a ton of sense because the book version took place in 50's and 80's, then the miniseries pushed up the time to the 60's and 90's, and now we've got the 80's and the second chapter will take place in 2018. It also has that neat aspect of IT coming back, kind of has a meta feel to it. I also feel like the scope and vibe of Derry was done well (loved the street signs), I got that eerie sense of adults being 'off' and that Derry is a real place, and something is wrong with it. I think this movie did a better job of focusing on the aspect of many kids being taken and eaten, much like the book focused on, as opposed to the 90's version which was mostly focused on Georgie and not the other kids
+ THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED BOWERS LOOKED JUST LIKE THE KID ACTOR WHO PLAYED HIM IN THE 90'S VERSION HOLY SHIT. It was like they had the same actor, or his kid. Fantastic casting.
+ Neibolt house looked amazing
+ Group interdynamics were mostly done well, at least the most important ones: the Bill-Bev-Ben love triangle and Richie/Eddie. The triangle had the most focus, for good reason, because it's heavily focused on in the book, and it was handled just as well as in the miniseries and book. It's actually one of my favorite love triangles ever, because it's not really a triangle, they all love each other and each relationship makes a ton of sense. Ben and Bev end up together and that's foreshadowed when they're kids (I actually think Ben/Bev were handled better in the remake because I definitely got a sense Bev liked Ben and they had a genuine connection with his music - in the miniseries it was a lot more subtle) but to me, Bill/Bev also have a very intense, strong connection that can't be ignored. It's there and it's bone deep, and to this day I still ship it, so I was very happy to see them get a lot of moments together. Bill and Ben don't one-up each other or fight each other for Bev's love, they respect each other and Bill helps take care of Ben while listening to him and Ben doesn't resent Bill for Bev liking him and respects his position as leader. And there's a great moment of foreshadowing when Bill chooses to go after Georgie instead of saving Bev as she's floating; instead, Ben saves her and I don't even mind that it was with a kiss. And there were a ton of background moments between Eddie and Richie, like I could really feel that they cared about each other more than the others and it was just as solid as the miniseries' version, I think there was even more banter between them which is very imporatnt for their relationship as adults
+ I like that Bev's dad in the remake was creepy and abusive in a different way, they definitely played up the sexual aspect which matches the book and while the miniseries does as much as it can, it comes off as more shallow and a bit more.... yeah, 'tv show' like.
+ Good choice on making the movie R rated, even with kids. Gives it a sense of realism, had more places to go with scares and gore, and it was realistic to have the kids swearing
+ Good humorous moments, especially from Richie and Eddie. I actually did find it amusing when the guys were all staring at Bev, that was a very nicely executed hint at their feelings toward her (along with the scene of her jumping in the water and them being awed) without making me feel uncomfortable
+ Blood pact scene was great, especially the cinematography and focusing on Eddie's 'lover' cast.
(Side note: I'm not going to sing the movie praises for not including the sewer sex scene because no fucking shit the movie omitted it - if it included even a hint of that scene, the movie would've been universally panned, for good reason, even with everything else being solid)
Now I'm going to be extremely nitpicky
What I Didn't Like:
- The thing that pissed me off the most, above all, was the lack of silver slugs being used. If I had to change one thing it would be to include the silver slugs. That's extremely important to the story. It gives the kids something to rally around and believe, it gives Bev purpose in the group of being the best 'shooter,' it gives Ben purpose by having him be the one to melt down the slugs (showing his hands-on, making things trait) and the whole scene of each of them shooting makes for a great group bonding moment. It also doubles as a symbol of faith in the other major object in the series, Silver, which is such an important object that I'm still shocked there was nothing really done with it. No riding to beat the devil, so when that happens with Audra at the end of the sequel (which I think should be kept, it's a very powerful ending and elevates the lackluster climax in the book and miniseries), people are going to be confused unless we get a flashback scene early on in the sequel. It just really, really bothers me that the slugs aren't used because Mike goes back to get them when they're lost in the sewers, and that shows his own sacrifice because his hair goes grey from being down there. I kinda get that the remake's writers wanted to modernize the weapons but... the gun didn't have nearly the same effect on me, and if you're going to use a gun, at least focus on the silver beams in it and have the group comment on believing that will work against Pennywise. And have Beverly use the gun, don't randomly give Mike some subplot about killing the lambs
- Which leads me into the extremely bizarre character background changes. Why is Ben the historian and Mike the.... idk, sheep killer? No, Ben is the architect, he builds the dam and he melts the slugs. Mike is the historian and that's important because he has to stay behind, someone has to stay behind to keep tabs on Derry. But instead Mike gets this random subplot about killing the sheep and he's not even the one to pull the trigger on Pennywise or Bowers; while he does get to kick Bowers down the well, there's this lack of... idk, payoff between them. It's so much more powerful with the book backstory that Henry's dad hates Mike's dad and that dovetails with racism which is still a major issue today, so it would've been so much more satisfying to have Mike's subplot be about his dad telling him not to engage with Henry, but Mike finds his dog dead and realizes it's Henry who did it, and THEN he can get a scene of comeuppance by beating Henry in the sewers. Idk his story was just so weirdly done and I feel like he was mostly a background character. And I'm sorry to say this, but his actor didn't convince me in the scene where he talked about his parents. His acting in that scene was awkard. Make the fire about his mom maybe, but keep his dad alive so we get a connection between him and Henry, which would have even more of an effect when Henry comes back to injure him in the sequel
- Henry and the other bullies were not handled well toward the end. There was great build-up, with Henry actually cutting an H into Ben's stomach (was glad they did that as opposed to not being able to go that far in the miniseries.) The scene of Henry killing his dad with the creepy Pennywise TV show was fantastic. It was so brutal, I couldn't even look, and it matched what happened in the book. BUT. Henry's dad wasn't a cop, that was a weird change to make him mildly sympathetic. His dad should've had that backstory of being racist and abusive and that transferring over to Henry. And there was so much build up to the bullies going after the Losers that ended very abruptly with Mike kicking Henry down the well. No. I guess the writers wanted to avoid being compared to the miniseries too much but that should not have been changed. It should've been the bullies separating the losers and Belch and Victor getting taken by Pennywise, like in the source material. This is so they can show up as zombies to Henry in the sequel. It looked like Henry died when he fell down the well, but the miniseries just handled that whole segment way better, especially them isolating Stan and Stan getting a glimpse of the Deadlights
- I was so excited about the Patrick Hockstetter part after I saw his missing poster in the trailer. His part is by far the scariest in the book, and it was completely ruined in the remake. Zombie kids, really? Ughhhhh. Flying leeches are so much better! Stop going with the easy jumpscares and done to death monster, go for something out of the box like King did. I could see the scene play out so clearly in my mind, with the fridge and tension ratcheting up and leeches slowly sucking Patrick Hockstetter to death, coming for him one by one until he's covered in them and sees a out-of-focus Pennywise with the "Helloandgoodbye" moment. And there's no excuse for it being too 'gory,' or taking up too much screentime. It could've lasted just as long and with the silence and him screaming, it could've been the best part of the remake. I have no idea why this was changed so drastically, and turned into such a pedestrian kill
- Too many modern jumpscares, honestly. And as the movie progressed it got more and more questionable why Pennywise didn't just kill the Losers Club. You could argue it was because their bond, or he wanted to play with them before killing them, but I got much less of a suspension of disbelief in the book and miniseries than with the remake. In the remake it felt too convenient, especially with Bill and Eddie in the Neibolt street house
- Third act falls flat for me. First two acts were mostly done well but the third act was disappointing. I liked the floating kids and Bill shooting Georgie and the blood pact scene, but....... yeah something about the act as a whole bothered me. It started when Richie got angry at Bill and the group split up. Really? No, they all realize they're better together than apart and throwing in an internal fight like that was unecessary. Make it about Eddie's mom keeping him from the group. If there had to be a fight, make it between Stan and Bill. If the fight absolutely had to be between Richie and Bill, that would've been a good opportunity to give Richie his own 'fear moment (he never had one), and then get Bill to save him. Or that could have very well happened between Stan and Bill, and it would have made sense because Stan is the outlier and skeptic; he is so offended by It existing that he kills himself in the sequel, breaking the circle and raising the stakes. That's Stan's role in the book, and it came across very well in the miniseries. In the remake it was just 'here's a Jewish kid who is afraid of a painting and kind of half-heartedly goes 'no it's not real' once or twice and that's it.) Have HIM get taken by IT when he's birdwatching or trying to read the Torah (where was the payoff for that, oh it was one scene in the montage) and have Stan fend IT off with bird names or Hebrew, beause the power of belief, of faith, is a major theme in the book and in the remake, I feel like it was mostly wasted. There are bits of it but it doesn't hit as hard as it does in the miniseries. And having Richie be the one to question Bill and reject him just... strikes me as such an odd choice. Richie is Bill's right hand man, he's the Marco to Bill's Jake. It doesn't even feel like there's any conclusion between Richie and Bill fighting, that was just so... weird.
- And the awkward choices continue from there, especially with another point that makes me furious: Bev getting captured. She does NOT get captured in the book. The bathroom scene was done well, and so was the fight with her dad, but then right afterward she's taken by Pennywise and I was like, "Oh, no." Because we have the one major female character in the group, who is already given a lot of female-centric traits like rumors that she's a slut and the fear of blood and her puberty and her hair and the love triangle and her father's abuse, and the movie was doing such a great job of including all of that while making her a brave young woman with layers and desires and a personality.... then it shit all over that by having her be captured to motivate the guys. Noooooo. She was supposed to be the best marksman. It's not enough that she was 'not afraid' of IT. If you're going to do that, don't have her be captured and sucked in the Deadlights for her to get to that point. Like I said, Stan should've been taken, or at the very least he gets a glimpse of the Deadlights. I actually don't mind that Ben kissed Bev to bring her out of her catatonic state, but mixed in with all the unfortunate stuff, it does come off as not great Bob.
- Neibolt street segment felt a little too long, I think it's because there were too many jump/modern scares. It just tried too hard at certain points in that segment. I did like the 'missing Richie' poster and the shot of Pennywise advancing on the kids with his hand turning into a claw, but I kinda wanted him to turn into a werewolf to be like the book. I also didn't like how the kids went back to the house. I mean, I guess it makes sense but it honestly felt weirdly repetitive, rather than being a good parallel. Neibolt street should've been its own thing, and put the sewer in the Barrens.
- So many opportunities for the kids to say "Beep Beep, Richie," yet none of them did to the point where it came off as a very glaring and calculated omission. Like, wtf? It would've taken all of 5 seconds for Bill to stutter, "Shut up," and he can't say it so instead he says, "Beep Beep, Richie." Then whenever he says something obnoxious, have one of the others say it. When Pennywise said it to him I was like, "Oh ok finally.... but people who haven't read the book or watched the miniseries is probably confused." So yeah, why the fuck is Pennywise suddenly saying it to him. Very strange to leave it out
- Just a petty little issue, I wish there had been a couple Richie/Bev moments like there was in the book and miniseries, and it would've been nice to see Bill and Mike have a connection because they have a very close bond as adults. The miniseries didn't really do anything with them in the first part though, so I'll let the Bill and Mike thing slide - as long as they focus on it in the sequel, I'll be happy. But yeah I also ship Richie/Bev, but I didn't see much chemistry between those actors (there were a couple one-sided moments on Richie's part which is fine), so maybe it's for the best that that is just not there. Sorry it's just that the book versions, and Seth and Emily had so much chemistry
- The climactic fight works well on paper but I don't think it was executed well on film. Now that I think about it there was a resolution to Richie and Bill's fight when Richie literally went to bat for Bill, but that moment... honestly fell flat for me, it just didn't have the same emotional connection or iconic vibe that "THIS IS BATTERY ACID, YOU SLIME," had. And I honestly prefer the circle shot and everyone facing their fear, then Bev shooting the slingshot, to the kids all hititng IT with random pipes and shit. I still don't like the gun's inclusion and that pipes were used multiple times, just pisses me off. If there had been some mention that they're silver, I would've been more okay with them, but there wasn't so I don't like them. And the directing and editing felt so haphazared in a bad way, like I guess it was supposed to be nauseating but there's sickening in a good way, and this wasn't that. None of the individual scares landed for me in that last fight. Ben getting scared by a mummy felt so random, keep the fear for each character consistent, like Eddie's leper.
- I did like the final moments between the Losers, and I LOVE how the Bill/Bev kiss was done. That was all great, but then the movie just suddenly ended on Bill's reaction shot and that was too abrupt for me. It should've paid homage to the miniseries: after Bev leaves, Bill looks at the sewer opening or Neibolt street house in the distance, and Bill stares at it, or maybe he shrugs it off and leaves. Cut back to the house/sewage pipe, cut to black, and have Pennywise start chuckling. That would've been perfect. Pays homage to the series, reminds people there's a second chapter, and gives off a creepy vibe rather than the jumpscare laugh in the miniseries, but still ends on Pennywise
So yeah, again, good movie, but meh to disappointing adaptation. So many things were changed that didn't need to be, seriously I don't think the audience would've been confused by Ben being the architect and Mike being the historian, or Stan getting mad at Bill then leaving, or Bev not being a damsel in distress. I do think some scares were better and the production quality was of course better than the series. There were little bits of detail that were so spot on that it frustrates me even more how the remake got those details right (street signs, Lego turtle, dead kids' names, Black Spot fire), and general things wrong. However, I still did enjoy watching the movie - I just don't think I'm going to watch it again, like I can rewatch the miniseries or read the book.
I think It II is going to be better than the miniseries version, because any changes it will make to that part will probably be for the better, especially at the end (and it's planted the most important things like It coming back, Ben/Bev, and Stan's skepticism.) I did read in an article that IT II is going to focus on the cosomological stuff, like the Turtle and Deadlights, so that should be interesting. I'm also looking forward to seeing the adult cast, because I'm sure with the first movie's success, the sequel is probably going to draw a few big names. I'd personally like Patrick Wilson to be adult Bill (just keep the hair lol), although I could see Bill Hader in that role. At first, I didn't like the idea of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Stan, but I could see it now. I think it'd be really cool if Amy Adams were Bev, Jessica Chastain were Audra, Chris Pratt were Ben, and Sterling K. Brown were Mike, but they all might be too big-name for the studio. I think Eddie's adult actor is going to be an unknown, and that might go for all the other adult Losers, except one will be way more recognizable than the most, kind of like how Richie's kid actor was the most recognizable. If the sequel can tone down the jump/shaky scares, get the character stuff right this time around, and keep the good relationship and character stuff it did get right while maintaining the eerieness of Derry and group's camaraderie (I'm realllly looking forward to the dinner scene with the fortune cookies, it's one of my favorite moments in the book and miniseries), then yeah I think I'll prob end up liking it more than the 90's version.
So yeah, all in all, 8/10 when I'm looking at it objectively, 5/10 as a huge fan of the book and miniseries.
My short review of the remake is: good movie, meh adaptation. It does some things right and gets others really, really wrong. Personally, I like the miniseries more.
What I liked:
+ Excellent acting for Bill, Bev, Richie, Eddie, and Pennywise. I totally bought each of those characters. With Bill I could tell from the trailers he'd be good, but he sold the hell out of Bill's connection with Georgie. Really felt for him, I like his Bill just as much as Jonathan Brandis's Bill (RIP). Bev's actress sold me on her bravery, she nailed that 'tough' attitude that miniseries Bev didn't quite have, while maintaining a soft, vulnerable quality that made it easy to empathize with her. Richie impressed me; I was expecting to not like him compared to Seth Green's Richie. I still prefer Green's Richie, but his 2017 counterpart nailed all his jokes, the awkward Voices, and his overall delivery. Eddie's actor was on par with the miniseries version of Eddie - both of them had that vulnerable aspect. Points to current Eddie's actor for being more natural and fluid. I actually forgot about Tim Curry's performance and thought Skarsgard was just as threatening, in a different way. There was something very unsettling about his eyes and smile, especially how he didn't blink.
+ Some great scares. My favorite was when Pennywise came through the projection wall. That one actually got me screaming!
+ Excellent visual effects, especially with Pennywise's teeth. LOVED the rows of teeth and rotating Deadlights. Great way to update the Deadlights without pushing that too much in the first chapter
+ Good sense of camaraderie with the 7 kids, which is an essential aspect of the book. I think the miniseries did it better overall, but this version did it well too, in the time they had. I was the most wary about this aspect and was pleasantly satisfied with it
+ Good sense of setting. I felt like it was the 80's, with the music, clothing and cars, and I appreciate the shift into the future. It makes a ton of sense because the book version took place in 50's and 80's, then the miniseries pushed up the time to the 60's and 90's, and now we've got the 80's and the second chapter will take place in 2018. It also has that neat aspect of IT coming back, kind of has a meta feel to it. I also feel like the scope and vibe of Derry was done well (loved the street signs), I got that eerie sense of adults being 'off' and that Derry is a real place, and something is wrong with it. I think this movie did a better job of focusing on the aspect of many kids being taken and eaten, much like the book focused on, as opposed to the 90's version which was mostly focused on Georgie and not the other kids
+ THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED BOWERS LOOKED JUST LIKE THE KID ACTOR WHO PLAYED HIM IN THE 90'S VERSION HOLY SHIT. It was like they had the same actor, or his kid. Fantastic casting.
+ Neibolt house looked amazing
+ Group interdynamics were mostly done well, at least the most important ones: the Bill-Bev-Ben love triangle and Richie/Eddie. The triangle had the most focus, for good reason, because it's heavily focused on in the book, and it was handled just as well as in the miniseries and book. It's actually one of my favorite love triangles ever, because it's not really a triangle, they all love each other and each relationship makes a ton of sense. Ben and Bev end up together and that's foreshadowed when they're kids (I actually think Ben/Bev were handled better in the remake because I definitely got a sense Bev liked Ben and they had a genuine connection with his music - in the miniseries it was a lot more subtle) but to me, Bill/Bev also have a very intense, strong connection that can't be ignored. It's there and it's bone deep, and to this day I still ship it, so I was very happy to see them get a lot of moments together. Bill and Ben don't one-up each other or fight each other for Bev's love, they respect each other and Bill helps take care of Ben while listening to him and Ben doesn't resent Bill for Bev liking him and respects his position as leader. And there's a great moment of foreshadowing when Bill chooses to go after Georgie instead of saving Bev as she's floating; instead, Ben saves her and I don't even mind that it was with a kiss. And there were a ton of background moments between Eddie and Richie, like I could really feel that they cared about each other more than the others and it was just as solid as the miniseries' version, I think there was even more banter between them which is very imporatnt for their relationship as adults
+ I like that Bev's dad in the remake was creepy and abusive in a different way, they definitely played up the sexual aspect which matches the book and while the miniseries does as much as it can, it comes off as more shallow and a bit more.... yeah, 'tv show' like.
+ Good choice on making the movie R rated, even with kids. Gives it a sense of realism, had more places to go with scares and gore, and it was realistic to have the kids swearing
+ Good humorous moments, especially from Richie and Eddie. I actually did find it amusing when the guys were all staring at Bev, that was a very nicely executed hint at their feelings toward her (along with the scene of her jumping in the water and them being awed) without making me feel uncomfortable
+ Blood pact scene was great, especially the cinematography and focusing on Eddie's 'lover' cast.
(Side note: I'm not going to sing the movie praises for not including the sewer sex scene because no fucking shit the movie omitted it - if it included even a hint of that scene, the movie would've been universally panned, for good reason, even with everything else being solid)
Now I'm going to be extremely nitpicky
What I Didn't Like:
- The thing that pissed me off the most, above all, was the lack of silver slugs being used. If I had to change one thing it would be to include the silver slugs. That's extremely important to the story. It gives the kids something to rally around and believe, it gives Bev purpose in the group of being the best 'shooter,' it gives Ben purpose by having him be the one to melt down the slugs (showing his hands-on, making things trait) and the whole scene of each of them shooting makes for a great group bonding moment. It also doubles as a symbol of faith in the other major object in the series, Silver, which is such an important object that I'm still shocked there was nothing really done with it. No riding to beat the devil, so when that happens with Audra at the end of the sequel (which I think should be kept, it's a very powerful ending and elevates the lackluster climax in the book and miniseries), people are going to be confused unless we get a flashback scene early on in the sequel. It just really, really bothers me that the slugs aren't used because Mike goes back to get them when they're lost in the sewers, and that shows his own sacrifice because his hair goes grey from being down there. I kinda get that the remake's writers wanted to modernize the weapons but... the gun didn't have nearly the same effect on me, and if you're going to use a gun, at least focus on the silver beams in it and have the group comment on believing that will work against Pennywise. And have Beverly use the gun, don't randomly give Mike some subplot about killing the lambs
- Which leads me into the extremely bizarre character background changes. Why is Ben the historian and Mike the.... idk, sheep killer? No, Ben is the architect, he builds the dam and he melts the slugs. Mike is the historian and that's important because he has to stay behind, someone has to stay behind to keep tabs on Derry. But instead Mike gets this random subplot about killing the sheep and he's not even the one to pull the trigger on Pennywise or Bowers; while he does get to kick Bowers down the well, there's this lack of... idk, payoff between them. It's so much more powerful with the book backstory that Henry's dad hates Mike's dad and that dovetails with racism which is still a major issue today, so it would've been so much more satisfying to have Mike's subplot be about his dad telling him not to engage with Henry, but Mike finds his dog dead and realizes it's Henry who did it, and THEN he can get a scene of comeuppance by beating Henry in the sewers. Idk his story was just so weirdly done and I feel like he was mostly a background character. And I'm sorry to say this, but his actor didn't convince me in the scene where he talked about his parents. His acting in that scene was awkard. Make the fire about his mom maybe, but keep his dad alive so we get a connection between him and Henry, which would have even more of an effect when Henry comes back to injure him in the sequel
- Henry and the other bullies were not handled well toward the end. There was great build-up, with Henry actually cutting an H into Ben's stomach (was glad they did that as opposed to not being able to go that far in the miniseries.) The scene of Henry killing his dad with the creepy Pennywise TV show was fantastic. It was so brutal, I couldn't even look, and it matched what happened in the book. BUT. Henry's dad wasn't a cop, that was a weird change to make him mildly sympathetic. His dad should've had that backstory of being racist and abusive and that transferring over to Henry. And there was so much build up to the bullies going after the Losers that ended very abruptly with Mike kicking Henry down the well. No. I guess the writers wanted to avoid being compared to the miniseries too much but that should not have been changed. It should've been the bullies separating the losers and Belch and Victor getting taken by Pennywise, like in the source material. This is so they can show up as zombies to Henry in the sequel. It looked like Henry died when he fell down the well, but the miniseries just handled that whole segment way better, especially them isolating Stan and Stan getting a glimpse of the Deadlights
- I was so excited about the Patrick Hockstetter part after I saw his missing poster in the trailer. His part is by far the scariest in the book, and it was completely ruined in the remake. Zombie kids, really? Ughhhhh. Flying leeches are so much better! Stop going with the easy jumpscares and done to death monster, go for something out of the box like King did. I could see the scene play out so clearly in my mind, with the fridge and tension ratcheting up and leeches slowly sucking Patrick Hockstetter to death, coming for him one by one until he's covered in them and sees a out-of-focus Pennywise with the "Helloandgoodbye" moment. And there's no excuse for it being too 'gory,' or taking up too much screentime. It could've lasted just as long and with the silence and him screaming, it could've been the best part of the remake. I have no idea why this was changed so drastically, and turned into such a pedestrian kill
- Too many modern jumpscares, honestly. And as the movie progressed it got more and more questionable why Pennywise didn't just kill the Losers Club. You could argue it was because their bond, or he wanted to play with them before killing them, but I got much less of a suspension of disbelief in the book and miniseries than with the remake. In the remake it felt too convenient, especially with Bill and Eddie in the Neibolt street house
- Third act falls flat for me. First two acts were mostly done well but the third act was disappointing. I liked the floating kids and Bill shooting Georgie and the blood pact scene, but....... yeah something about the act as a whole bothered me. It started when Richie got angry at Bill and the group split up. Really? No, they all realize they're better together than apart and throwing in an internal fight like that was unecessary. Make it about Eddie's mom keeping him from the group. If there had to be a fight, make it between Stan and Bill. If the fight absolutely had to be between Richie and Bill, that would've been a good opportunity to give Richie his own 'fear moment (he never had one), and then get Bill to save him. Or that could have very well happened between Stan and Bill, and it would have made sense because Stan is the outlier and skeptic; he is so offended by It existing that he kills himself in the sequel, breaking the circle and raising the stakes. That's Stan's role in the book, and it came across very well in the miniseries. In the remake it was just 'here's a Jewish kid who is afraid of a painting and kind of half-heartedly goes 'no it's not real' once or twice and that's it.) Have HIM get taken by IT when he's birdwatching or trying to read the Torah (where was the payoff for that, oh it was one scene in the montage) and have Stan fend IT off with bird names or Hebrew, beause the power of belief, of faith, is a major theme in the book and in the remake, I feel like it was mostly wasted. There are bits of it but it doesn't hit as hard as it does in the miniseries. And having Richie be the one to question Bill and reject him just... strikes me as such an odd choice. Richie is Bill's right hand man, he's the Marco to Bill's Jake. It doesn't even feel like there's any conclusion between Richie and Bill fighting, that was just so... weird.
- And the awkward choices continue from there, especially with another point that makes me furious: Bev getting captured. She does NOT get captured in the book. The bathroom scene was done well, and so was the fight with her dad, but then right afterward she's taken by Pennywise and I was like, "Oh, no." Because we have the one major female character in the group, who is already given a lot of female-centric traits like rumors that she's a slut and the fear of blood and her puberty and her hair and the love triangle and her father's abuse, and the movie was doing such a great job of including all of that while making her a brave young woman with layers and desires and a personality.... then it shit all over that by having her be captured to motivate the guys. Noooooo. She was supposed to be the best marksman. It's not enough that she was 'not afraid' of IT. If you're going to do that, don't have her be captured and sucked in the Deadlights for her to get to that point. Like I said, Stan should've been taken, or at the very least he gets a glimpse of the Deadlights. I actually don't mind that Ben kissed Bev to bring her out of her catatonic state, but mixed in with all the unfortunate stuff, it does come off as not great Bob.
- Neibolt street segment felt a little too long, I think it's because there were too many jump/modern scares. It just tried too hard at certain points in that segment. I did like the 'missing Richie' poster and the shot of Pennywise advancing on the kids with his hand turning into a claw, but I kinda wanted him to turn into a werewolf to be like the book. I also didn't like how the kids went back to the house. I mean, I guess it makes sense but it honestly felt weirdly repetitive, rather than being a good parallel. Neibolt street should've been its own thing, and put the sewer in the Barrens.
- So many opportunities for the kids to say "Beep Beep, Richie," yet none of them did to the point where it came off as a very glaring and calculated omission. Like, wtf? It would've taken all of 5 seconds for Bill to stutter, "Shut up," and he can't say it so instead he says, "Beep Beep, Richie." Then whenever he says something obnoxious, have one of the others say it. When Pennywise said it to him I was like, "Oh ok finally.... but people who haven't read the book or watched the miniseries is probably confused." So yeah, why the fuck is Pennywise suddenly saying it to him. Very strange to leave it out
- Just a petty little issue, I wish there had been a couple Richie/Bev moments like there was in the book and miniseries, and it would've been nice to see Bill and Mike have a connection because they have a very close bond as adults. The miniseries didn't really do anything with them in the first part though, so I'll let the Bill and Mike thing slide - as long as they focus on it in the sequel, I'll be happy. But yeah I also ship Richie/Bev, but I didn't see much chemistry between those actors (there were a couple one-sided moments on Richie's part which is fine), so maybe it's for the best that that is just not there. Sorry it's just that the book versions, and Seth and Emily had so much chemistry
- The climactic fight works well on paper but I don't think it was executed well on film. Now that I think about it there was a resolution to Richie and Bill's fight when Richie literally went to bat for Bill, but that moment... honestly fell flat for me, it just didn't have the same emotional connection or iconic vibe that "THIS IS BATTERY ACID, YOU SLIME," had. And I honestly prefer the circle shot and everyone facing their fear, then Bev shooting the slingshot, to the kids all hititng IT with random pipes and shit. I still don't like the gun's inclusion and that pipes were used multiple times, just pisses me off. If there had been some mention that they're silver, I would've been more okay with them, but there wasn't so I don't like them. And the directing and editing felt so haphazared in a bad way, like I guess it was supposed to be nauseating but there's sickening in a good way, and this wasn't that. None of the individual scares landed for me in that last fight. Ben getting scared by a mummy felt so random, keep the fear for each character consistent, like Eddie's leper.
- I did like the final moments between the Losers, and I LOVE how the Bill/Bev kiss was done. That was all great, but then the movie just suddenly ended on Bill's reaction shot and that was too abrupt for me. It should've paid homage to the miniseries: after Bev leaves, Bill looks at the sewer opening or Neibolt street house in the distance, and Bill stares at it, or maybe he shrugs it off and leaves. Cut back to the house/sewage pipe, cut to black, and have Pennywise start chuckling. That would've been perfect. Pays homage to the series, reminds people there's a second chapter, and gives off a creepy vibe rather than the jumpscare laugh in the miniseries, but still ends on Pennywise
So yeah, again, good movie, but meh to disappointing adaptation. So many things were changed that didn't need to be, seriously I don't think the audience would've been confused by Ben being the architect and Mike being the historian, or Stan getting mad at Bill then leaving, or Bev not being a damsel in distress. I do think some scares were better and the production quality was of course better than the series. There were little bits of detail that were so spot on that it frustrates me even more how the remake got those details right (street signs, Lego turtle, dead kids' names, Black Spot fire), and general things wrong. However, I still did enjoy watching the movie - I just don't think I'm going to watch it again, like I can rewatch the miniseries or read the book.
I think It II is going to be better than the miniseries version, because any changes it will make to that part will probably be for the better, especially at the end (and it's planted the most important things like It coming back, Ben/Bev, and Stan's skepticism.) I did read in an article that IT II is going to focus on the cosomological stuff, like the Turtle and Deadlights, so that should be interesting. I'm also looking forward to seeing the adult cast, because I'm sure with the first movie's success, the sequel is probably going to draw a few big names. I'd personally like Patrick Wilson to be adult Bill (just keep the hair lol), although I could see Bill Hader in that role. At first, I didn't like the idea of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Stan, but I could see it now. I think it'd be really cool if Amy Adams were Bev, Jessica Chastain were Audra, Chris Pratt were Ben, and Sterling K. Brown were Mike, but they all might be too big-name for the studio. I think Eddie's adult actor is going to be an unknown, and that might go for all the other adult Losers, except one will be way more recognizable than the most, kind of like how Richie's kid actor was the most recognizable. If the sequel can tone down the jump/shaky scares, get the character stuff right this time around, and keep the good relationship and character stuff it did get right while maintaining the eerieness of Derry and group's camaraderie (I'm realllly looking forward to the dinner scene with the fortune cookies, it's one of my favorite moments in the book and miniseries), then yeah I think I'll prob end up liking it more than the 90's version.
So yeah, all in all, 8/10 when I'm looking at it objectively, 5/10 as a huge fan of the book and miniseries.