[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by chip75

My first viewing … I haven’t seen the mini-series in a few years but I’ve recently finished the book. I must say I was excited to see Chapter One, I loved the trailers, but the movie left me slightly disappointed.

I missed the bonding between the Losers’ Club, we had the bit were they rescue Mike and help Ben, but I missed the smaller moments, like the dam teambuilding, the cinema visit or the clubhouse. Some of the character changes didn’t sit well either. Mike doesn’t seem to have anything to do anymore. I know Ben spent time at the library, but it almost seems that they merged Mike’s character into his. We didn’t really see any of Beverly’s future in fashion either. She plays a keyboard in her room, I wonder if her future will be music? Bill creates a replica of the sewers in his garage, so he seems to have some of Ben’s architectural flare. Eddie was nicely one. Richie was a bit of a disappointment, a lot of his humour was missing. Stanley was foreshadowed well. Henry Bowers was suitably psychotic, I’m not sure why the cut the scene where he sits in the car with his murdered friends. He didn’t get kicked in the balls enough; it should have been a running joke.

I think they missed a trick with Its manifestations, the 1980s had such great iconic characters that could have been used in a few scenes. It would have been neat to see Freddy, Jason or even Beetlejuice show up! I understand why they chose the forms they did, but I think they could have been more playful in the beginning.

Pennywise was okay, we got slight glimpses of is true form, but the way It chased the kids a short distance in spurts was a bit underwhelming. Most of the effects were very well done. The score and production design were fantastic.

Looking forward to Chapter Two, I’ll miss the kids, as they were excellent. I'm not sure what I'd rate the film, it's tough to compare it to the huge novel. I would have loved a bit more time with the kids (a three hour cut wouldn't hurt this one bit), as I missed the little things that bonded the Losers' Club together.

I know I said I was disappointed, but I think it was because the book was so fresh in my mind. I'd still rate this very highly.

You know there's a director cut coming, right? Bet it'll have a lot of the stuff you wanted to see.