With It (2017) hitting theaters this weekend, I thought it would be fitting to review the miniseries It (1990). So without further ado...
In the quiet town of Derry, Maine, Seven freinds, Bill, Eddie, Mike, Bev, Stan, Richie and Ben (the losers club) have all been seeing and hearing strange things. Most of which revolve around a Clown called Pennywise (played by Tim Curry) in which they all admit being real, the kids eventually discover that the leader of the club, Bill's little brother fell victim to this evil. The group sets out to stop the force and put it to rest once and for all. 30 years after defeating IT, Mike Hanlon (played by Tim Reid), the only Member who remained in derry, is suspecting that IT has returned and is forced to call back all of the Losers club, due to a promise they all made to return if its evil shall ever resurface. Uncovering new powers, clues and evil the club reunites as adults and come face to face with the evil that has haunted and fed on Derry for the last centuries.
This is the film/miniseries that horrified a generation. To really explain and give a review, you have to do this in two parts so we'll start with the first one. In this part we get our introductions to each character in a flashback set uniquely for each of them and while the flashbacks are nice, they get annoying fairly quickly, but outside of that the rest of part 1 is truly a solid film. The child actors in the film do a great job of portraying a safer version of each character from the book which is to be expected in a miniseries type of atmosphere and they do well with the material given to them. Each of them are given their moments to shine and you can really feel the connection to all of them. Tim Curry as Pennywise plays a huge role in this portion of the film and he does a masterful job of being your worst nightmare come true and he is both funny and terrifying all at the same time which can make for a lethal combination. The effects are so-so throughout both parts but some can be pretty creepy when put into context. Also the scares and gruesomeness from the book have the reigns pulled back on them and it's understandable being that direct Tommy Lee Wallace didn't have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to adapting a massive book to tv without leaving out the best parts of the book in the film itself. Overall this film did what it was supposed to do in giving your creepy and terrifying moments whilst giving you some great character development although the way they got the character development was by the overuse of flashbacks. I give It: Part 1 a 9 out of 10.
In the second part of this film, a lot of the great things from the first part fall to the wayside in the second part. One of the main reasons for that is because of the different style of acting that is brought in due to the children now being grown ups. The acting in this part is absolutely dreadful filled with a lot of bad jokes and some of the duller performances you'll ever see. The dialogue given to each one of them is horrendous and it really shows that most of the book is not really that great to transition over to the small screen staying true to the book. Also the lack of Tim Curry as Pennywise in this part of the film is really disappointing as he's only in about 5 scenes and doesn't have that much screen time within those 5 scenes so taking out one of the best parts of the whole film and making minimal use of him in the second half is just not a great game plan. The scares in the second part aren't as good as the first part, but there are some really eerie and creepy scenes that make you take a step back for a few minutes. Comparing it to the first part, the character development in the first part was superb and you were really able to attach to the characters and to an extent, the adults as well. However the character development in the second part is just absolutely lackluster and you never expand upon the characters knowledge any further and it makes for pretty boring film. Overall the second part is a complete 180 of the first part and it just honestly feels like something that was put together at the last second. I give It: Part 2 a 3 out of 10.
Now for an overall rating I usually combine the scores, divide them by how many films there are and give the franchise as a whole an average rating. However when it comes to this film it really plays as one big film so to rate the entire film put together is the easiest way to go instead of giving a average of 5.5 out of 10 mainly due to the second part. But the first part of film easily makes up for the lackluster of the second part and I think the film as whole does a really great job of serving a tv audience with the budget and themes it dives into as much as you are able in this medium. So overall I'm going to give the film as a whole an 8 out of 10.
So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of IT (1990), what would you rate it, are looking forward to IT (2017) and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
In the quiet town of Derry, Maine, Seven freinds, Bill, Eddie, Mike, Bev, Stan, Richie and Ben (the losers club) have all been seeing and hearing strange things. Most of which revolve around a Clown called Pennywise (played by Tim Curry) in which they all admit being real, the kids eventually discover that the leader of the club, Bill's little brother fell victim to this evil. The group sets out to stop the force and put it to rest once and for all. 30 years after defeating IT, Mike Hanlon (played by Tim Reid), the only Member who remained in derry, is suspecting that IT has returned and is forced to call back all of the Losers club, due to a promise they all made to return if its evil shall ever resurface. Uncovering new powers, clues and evil the club reunites as adults and come face to face with the evil that has haunted and fed on Derry for the last centuries.
This is the film/miniseries that horrified a generation. To really explain and give a review, you have to do this in two parts so we'll start with the first one. In this part we get our introductions to each character in a flashback set uniquely for each of them and while the flashbacks are nice, they get annoying fairly quickly, but outside of that the rest of part 1 is truly a solid film. The child actors in the film do a great job of portraying a safer version of each character from the book which is to be expected in a miniseries type of atmosphere and they do well with the material given to them. Each of them are given their moments to shine and you can really feel the connection to all of them. Tim Curry as Pennywise plays a huge role in this portion of the film and he does a masterful job of being your worst nightmare come true and he is both funny and terrifying all at the same time which can make for a lethal combination. The effects are so-so throughout both parts but some can be pretty creepy when put into context. Also the scares and gruesomeness from the book have the reigns pulled back on them and it's understandable being that direct Tommy Lee Wallace didn't have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to adapting a massive book to tv without leaving out the best parts of the book in the film itself. Overall this film did what it was supposed to do in giving your creepy and terrifying moments whilst giving you some great character development although the way they got the character development was by the overuse of flashbacks. I give It: Part 1 a 9 out of 10.
In the second part of this film, a lot of the great things from the first part fall to the wayside in the second part. One of the main reasons for that is because of the different style of acting that is brought in due to the children now being grown ups. The acting in this part is absolutely dreadful filled with a lot of bad jokes and some of the duller performances you'll ever see. The dialogue given to each one of them is horrendous and it really shows that most of the book is not really that great to transition over to the small screen staying true to the book. Also the lack of Tim Curry as Pennywise in this part of the film is really disappointing as he's only in about 5 scenes and doesn't have that much screen time within those 5 scenes so taking out one of the best parts of the whole film and making minimal use of him in the second half is just not a great game plan. The scares in the second part aren't as good as the first part, but there are some really eerie and creepy scenes that make you take a step back for a few minutes. Comparing it to the first part, the character development in the first part was superb and you were really able to attach to the characters and to an extent, the adults as well. However the character development in the second part is just absolutely lackluster and you never expand upon the characters knowledge any further and it makes for pretty boring film. Overall the second part is a complete 180 of the first part and it just honestly feels like something that was put together at the last second. I give It: Part 2 a 3 out of 10.
Now for an overall rating I usually combine the scores, divide them by how many films there are and give the franchise as a whole an average rating. However when it comes to this film it really plays as one big film so to rate the entire film put together is the easiest way to go instead of giving a average of 5.5 out of 10 mainly due to the second part. But the first part of film easily makes up for the lackluster of the second part and I think the film as whole does a really great job of serving a tv audience with the budget and themes it dives into as much as you are able in this medium. So overall I'm going to give the film as a whole an 8 out of 10.
So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of IT (1990), what would you rate it, are looking forward to IT (2017) and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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