It (2017) review

A group of frequently-mocked kids, including stuttering Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), potty-mouthed Richie (Finn Wolfhard), history buff Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and tomboy Bev (Sophia Lillis), seek out the elusive title creature - which sometimes takes the form of a clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) - that preys on children ... and killed Bill's little brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott). Aesthetically speaking, it's well above-average - the Pennywise makeup is superb, the effects can be delirious, Chung Chung-Hoon's camerawork is crisp - yet the characters are one-dimensional (it's always the "bullies" versus the "bullied" - are there no redeemable adults to be found in this rotten town?) and feels like an endless string of jump scares/Boo Moments: "leaping at" the audience without making it think (because there isn't a whole lot to think about). As anyone that's read the book or seen the 1990 TV mini-series should know, this is only part one - part two is supposed to revisit the principal "losers" as adults: let's see how that (necessary) part of Mr. King's novel is filmed....