Oliver Matheson’s review published on Letterboxd:
"Kiss me, fat boy"
This is a 3 star movie for sure, but I'm bumping it up a half star purely because of Bill Hader and James Ransone. They absolutely killed it! What performances. Every look, every line was on point, simultaneously impressive because of the characters they create, and because they so closely match the child version of their characters. I would sit through this nearly three hour film again just for those performances. Also, if you're looking for more from these two I recommend Barry and Generation Kill, both on HBO.
In a world where Stranger Things' ripoff of 80s tropes does nothing but annoy me, the way that Andy Muschietti captured that Stand By Me feeling of a bunch of kids riding their bikes and coming together as friends is what I enjoyed about the first It (and Bill Skarsgård's wonderfully creepy performance obviously) and guaranteed that I would eventually watch the second chapter. This was not necessarily a satisfying follow-up or conclusion, but I certainly enjoyed it. The idea of a group of childhood friends reuniting to face their fears and battle evil is a terrific setup, and despite a weak script and plenty of over-acting the cast gives it their all and manage to create an entertaining bit of funhouse carnival shenanigans (thank you WowMikeWow), even if the final CGI-filled battle goes on for way longer than it needed to.