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While the 2017 and 2019ITmovies improved on the 1990 miniseries in many ways , the latter ultimately has a more satisfying conclusion . Over the class , it ’s become a well - known refrain that Stephen King , as majuscule and successful a writer as he is , has a genuine problem crafting satisfying end . Many of his best stories either seem to end without much flourish or get too convoluted and hard to adopt . King’sITnovel is an example of the latter , blow a metaphysical finale that was always destine to be unfilmable in full .
IThas so far been adapted double , first as a 1990 ABC miniseries and more of late as a yoke of theatrical movies in 2017 and 2019 . Both adaptations have their strengths and weakness , and both featurePennywise the Clown performances by Tim Curryand Bill Skarsgard , respectively , that are great in their own elbow room . Both also took their own better shots at adapting King ’s rather wild end for the screen and met with varying levels of achiever .
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Outside of Curry ’s Pennywise , though , most King devotees do seem to tally that theITmovies are overall closer to the intent of the volume , if only because they had more exemption to insert gory force , foul voice communication , and other adult content . Yet , IT Chapter Twois much less well regarded thanIT2017 . A bountiful reason for that is its termination , which while suitably loud and visually exhilarating , usher in many of its own flaws with its rendering of King ’s prose . So many in fact that , for all its faults , the terminate ofIT1990 is actually better .
Stephen King’s IT Has Never Received A Truly Great Ending
While he has n’t always been a favorite of book critics , Stephen King is one of the highest - selling authorsof all clip , has millions of devoted fans , and it ’s dependable to say he is considered a master of horror by most . Unfortunately , as mentioned above , that control does n’t always extend to know how to best conclude his storey . ITis no exclusion , as the book ’s closing is overlong , overwrought , and takes what had been a round-eyed engagement between good and evil and turns it into a conflict involving a elephantine cosmic turtleneck .
That ’s not to sayIT ’s ending break the Holy Writ by any means , as it ’s not necessarily awful in a vacuum ; it just suffers compare to the amazing story King told on previous pages . Due to howout there King ’s writtenITending is , both the 1990ITminiseries and 2019 movieIT Chapter Twoattempt to keep some parts of it while jettisoning others . Some aspects of both film endings are good , and some are big , but neither is as good asIT ’s story deserve . For whatever reason , it just seems like writers , whether they be King or various screenwriters , ca n’t crack how just to craft a worthy finale to what had been a story so chilling that it ’s liable to make the reader / witness ’s bloodline turn tail cold . Neither of theITendings have been big enough to makeITnot deserving watching or reading , but they can put a scrap of a damper on the excitement one leave with .
All The Problems With IT Chapter Two’s Ending
In many ways , theITmovies are better than the 1990 miniseries adaption . The full-grown budget allows for more complex and prodigal scare set - pieces , lots of special effects used tocreate Pennywise ’s various transmutation , and overall well actor play the Losers ' Club as grownup . The end , though , is arguably whereIT Chapter Twoalmost entirely falls aside . After a motion picture full of jarring tonic switch , the ending is too packed with sarcastic one - liners , IT ’s last form is a bit mirthful , and bad of all is the Losers fundamentally defeat it by diss the animate being to death .
Related : Why Stephen King Almost Quit Horror After Writing IT
While the great power of opinion has always been a big part of King’sITstory , especially since youngster are the goliath ’s usual prey , the final fight between the Losers and Pennywise come down to an abuse bombardment is a bizarre choice . In that esteem , one wonders if this IT could be vote out by an furious internet comment surgical incision . Then to top the risky things off , IT Chapter Two ’s termination sees set to includeStan ’s notoriously problematical felo-de-se note , which attempt to whirl Stan taking his own lifetime into a heroic , necessary act . In a world where many people with genial illness teeterboard on the verge every day , painting suicide as a near affair is just downright irresponsible , but even with that aside , it exclusively transfer Stan ’s character arc . The fact that his friends smile while understand it is doubly as troubling .
Why The Miniseries Ending Is More Satisfying, Despite Its Own Flaws
When discussing anything about the 1990ITminiseries ' ending , it ’s all but required to address the elephant in the room : the perfectly dreadful looking giant wanderer that IT ends up turning into . The beast is part marionette , part stop - move animation , and while a bit charming in a Ray Harryhausen - esque way , it ’s hard not to chuckle at . Yet , apart from that true rather large flaw , the 1990ITending is more satisfying than the 2019 iteration . Sure , it has less of a budget to go with by far , but it is also much more to the spot , less convolute and tonally discrepant , and does n’t attempt to turn Stan ’s suicide into a felicitous ending .
Beverly Marsh using her slingshot to hurt IT before the Losers track it down and rip out its organs is also more satisfying and cathartic than Pennywise deflating from being called names . There ’s a lot less to the 1990ITending to be sure , and it ’s a deal less meretricious , but as the honest-to-goodness expression goes , less is sometimes more . The2019IT Chapter Twoendingmay have a lot of speech sound and ferocity on display , but that Eumenides is mostly just bluster at the end of the day . A few genuinely great moments like Richie saying goodbye to Eddie , a struggle for dominance with oddly placed references toThe polishing , and a tacked - on Ritual of Chud subplot that ends up meaning utterly nothing to the story overall . WhenITis inevitably adapted again , it ’ll be interesting to see if whoever writes the next version in the end gets the ending fully right . Until then , there ’s always the HBO Max prequel , Welcome to Derry .
More : Pennywise vs. Randall Flagg : Which Is Stephen King ’s Greatest Villain ?
