The first time I saw this movie was alone at the theater. I watched it again today, and I loved it. It missed the mark on a lot of topics from the book, and I disagree with the updated time period, but it was really good. The CGI was killer, the clown was excellent, and I liked all of the characters.
Chapter 1 focuses on the children section of the book, only they moved it from 1958 to 1989, which is a huge change. There were some changes that I thought made a lot of sense, like Ben Hanscom being the research as opposed to the 1990 adaptation where Mike Hanlon was fascinated with the town's dark history. I think this would have worked well in the book too. Ben was an avid reader, and as a kid Michael pretty much just worked and hung out, despite his father having the old books and firsthand information of the Black Spot. The Black Spot was a fascinating delve into history in the book (primarily because Dick Halloran, the cook from the Shining, was there), and it was glanced over in both theatrical versions.
I was disappointed that Eddie lost his battery acid moment of glory in the sewer, but the sewers in this movie were not the dangerous unmapped territory they were before.
Pennywise was vicious, with excellent CG teeth. There was no Ritual of Chud, no silver, but the clown was very well done in both the sense that it was more friendly and approachable than Tim Curry's Pennywise, and its evil was more vicious and violent (which, cinematically, I think, is a sign of the times that these movies were made).
I very much recommend this version to anyone who won't read the book.
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