The movie, hitting theaters Sept. 5, flits back and forth between the original storyline and 27 years as the Losers Club reunites

IT Chapter 2 is is almost here — and the first reviews of the highly-anticipated sequel might have some fans worried that it won’t live up to the 2017 hit thriller.

The movie, hitting theaters Sept. 5, flits back and forth between the original storyline and 27 years as the Losers Club reunites when Pennywise the clown resurfaces. The original cast of kids returns, with Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader filling in for the adult versions of the characters.

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As members of press attend screenings, the first reactions of the movie have started making their way online.

“#ITChapter2 isn’t as refined as the first, but it’s still an excellent ensemble piece, oozing with heart & packed with extremely well-crafted set pieces. Muschietti weaves the young & adult Losers together super well, giving IT 2 a truly epic feel. (MVP: Bill Hader as Richie),” Collider‘s Perri Nemiroff tweeted.

“So, ITChapterTwo: it’s v. good, but not great. I liked it, but didn’t LOVE it. First movie is a tough act to follow. TWO is gruesome, strange but rarely scary. Nails important aspects from the book, but feels overlong. Cast is aces, though, & Bill Hader SHOULD be in Oscar convo,” Sean O’Connor, managing director for CinemaBlend, tweeted.

Still, there were others that were big fans, like Collider‘s editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub.

“#ITChapterTwo is awesome. The adult cast is perfect and loved the way the film mixes in the old and new. I don’t want to say too much because most of you are going to see it. Congrats to everyone that worked on it for a job well done,” he tweeted.

Image zoom IT Chapter 2 Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

As returning director Andy Muschietti recently revealed, the conclusion to his saga, based on the novel by Stephen King, will run an epic 2 hours and 45 minutes — a full half an hour longer than the previous chapter.

Muschietti told Digital Spy and other press his movie actually ran much longer when first pieced together, and the final result moves swiftly despite its mammoth running time.

“At the beginning, when you’re writing and building the beats of the story, everything that you put in there seems very essential to the story,” he said. “However, when you have the movie finally edited and it’s 4 hours long, you realize that some of the events and some of the beats can be easily lifted but the essence of the story remains intact.