Richard Brody
The movie is not terrifying but blandly edifying; its scares, foreshadowed as if by telegram, are delivered less effectively than its life lessons.
Stephanie Zacharek
Doesn't cut very deep and isn't very scary.
Katie Walsh
It's such a great performance that you wish Muschietti had eased up on the CGI and just let Skarsg�rd do the talking.
Bilge Ebiri
Even those unfamiliar with the book might wonder why this kids-only manifestation of IT feels strangely toothless on the horror front.
Emily Yoshida
This new It has more on its mind, and gives more body and voice to King's ideas of childhood anxieties and the corrosive power of fear.
Matthew Lickona
Horror's power here does not come from monstrous imagery, but from the encounter with evil... Muschietti seems to miss that, going for teeth over terror from the get-go.
Dana Stevens
I can't say the first half of It scared me senseless, but it built up enough goodwill toward its young heroes to make me curious about what they'll be like in their grown-up incarnations.
Peter Travers
You'll scream bloody murder!
Adam Graham
While the killer clown Pennywise is the center of the film's marketing campaign, the image on the film's poster, it's the kids in this surprisingly robust adaptation of Stephen King's novel who give "It" its center.
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