Think I liked it more than you did, but can't argue.
Basically a rehash of the first part, but without the charm of the child actors who brought that to life. A bunch of people in their late forties running about shouting over each other like the Goonies, and they seem to have left out the big scares. The first one had some excellent jump scare moments, and OK it's a cheap way to do horror, but the first one elevated that to an art form, the bit with the projector was one of the best jump scares I can remember, but I can't even think of one such moment in part 2, and I only watched it last night.
I do like the fact they made a running gag about "shitty endings" and even got Stephen King himself in on the joke, but yeah, disappointing experience overall.
I feel like it should have been better, given the quality of the cast. But the writing was very much phoned in.
There's a certain kind of magic in the best Stephen King adaptations that transcends horror, and cuts through to something more profound and human.
Stand By Me is a good example of that, as is
Carrie and to an extent the first
It from a couple of years back. I haven't read the book, but you get a sense of what King was trying to convey in this that didn't really carry through. There's a huge gaping hole where the pathos is supposed to kick in at the end that usually speaks to a lack of homework in an earlier act to earn that payoff. In this case it seems like the movie huffed and puffed and tried very hard to elicit some sort of an emotional reaction linked to the characters' trauma as children and how they've carried it with them, but it's all very hamfisted and probably required a lot more time than they had to do it justice.
I wouldn't mind seeing a decent mini-series adaptation of it, actually, I think if we spent the first 5 episodes of a 13 episode season on the children, and then another 5 or so episodes on the adults, giving a bit more depth to the characters, it would allow a much more emotionally satisfying conclusion.
