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‘A Quiet Place Part II’ is the continuation of the breakout hit ‘A Quiet Place’. Re-entering the world where alien creatures who have taken over the planet can find and kill anyone who makes a sound, our family led by the mother Evelyn who had just given birth (Emily Blunt), Our deaf hero Reagan (Millicent Simmonds), & now the man of the ‘house’ Marcus (Noah Jupe). We have the addition of Emmit (Cillian Murphy) as a new hope to save humanity presents itself but can this family survive in time for hope to arrive? Director and all-around good guy John Krasinski has proven yet again he can expertly craft a suspense thriller with powerful dramatic storytelling and complex and compelling characters that you root for from beginning to end.
This film was meant to be released just as the pandemic was beginning, you can even check out a clip of Krasinski being interviewed on The Colbert Show to start the marketing campaign for the films release. Krasinski has said that this movie was meant to be seen in a theater, and after seeing it I 100% agree with him.
One reason is the sound design. Like the first film, most of the suspense and fear come from the sounds in a sea of silence. This is NOT the film to show up at with the loudest food possible or you will be humiliated every time you take a bite. A pin drop can be heard as you see this family desperately try to keep a FREAKING BABY from crying randomly or they all will be ripped apart. You need the theater to accurately get the full effect of the sounds and without that, the film will lose a lot of its jump effect.
Another reason to watch in theaters is in its scale. From the previous film, ‘A Quiet Place 2’ has a budget they can put into their creatures to be prominently displayed, and the only way to see how truly terrifying they are is on the biggest screen available. I loved the aliens look and movement and they absolutely stepped up their game with the CGI.
The characters are truly the star of the show still, both Reagan and Marcus getting more focus and development that work beautifully with the story. Cillian Murphy’s character is a wonderful addition and has a great dynamic interacting with Reagan.
If there is any issue thats just a slight issue, it’s that there is a lot of greased up hinges in this apocalypse until there suddenly isn’t. Though I love the sound design and mixing, there were some unrealistic moments where regardless of how quietly the actor moves something, it should make a noise.
Overall, I absolutely loved this film. Please go and watch it on the biggest screen possible and I promise you will be rewarded. The movie follows through on all the promises set up in the original and then some, and the acting and story is stronger than ever.
