A Quiet Place Part II movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert (2024)

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A Quiet Place Part II movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert (1)

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I still cannot believe that John Krasinski got moviegoers to be silent back in 2018. His box-office smash “A Quiet Place” (co-written with Scott Beck and Bryan Woods) went beyond caring about characters trying to survive in quiet—it taught uneasy audiences to follow suit, filling theaters with silent observers. No moviegoer would want Krasinski to repeat this terror exactly for a sequel, but the changes he’s made in this follow-up then feel especially brash: it’s bigger, faster, louder, and more typical for the horror blockbuster genre. “Part II” has got approximately triple the amount of dialogue as the original, and its horror is far more literal and straightforward. If you were more scared of the sound-hating, generic looking crab/spider monsters with the Venom-like heads from the first movie than you were the visceral challenge of complete silence, “A Quiet Place Part II” is especially for you.

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In writing and directing this sequel, Krasinski proves his intelligence and his non-subversive priorities when it comes to being a genre director. He also asserts his talent at orchestrating tense life-or-death scenes with an exciting sense of when to go slow and when to floor it. In its best moments, “A Quiet Place Part II” reminded me of Steven Spielberg cutting loose with “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” letting his beasts rampage through a new environment in a staggering way. Even if this sequel remains firmly in the shadows of the original, I wanted part three as soon as it was over.

The first movie ended essentially at its climax, with our heroes, the Abbotts, finally tipping the scales after 400-some days of terror under their noise-slaying captors. “Part II” begins with a deliciously cruel reset, going back to day one of all this, when no one knew anything. We as audience members know what comes eventually (Krasinski’s plotting treats the first movie as required viewing), and that makes a scene at a Little League baseball game—an open field of noise—an especially nerve-rattling, jack-in-the-box sequence in a movie that has plenty of them. The match is called off when something especially big blows up in the sky; everyone shuffles home. Many citizens don’t stand a chance after the aliens suddenly slam into town, sending Lee Abbott (Krasinski) into hiding with his daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), while mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt) frantically drives with her two sons. This is like a high-octane victory lap for what Krasinski accomplished in the first movie especially as its bracing violence reacclimatizes us to fearing sound, while locking us into different characters’ points-of-view with long takes as they try to navigate pure chaos. “A Quiet Place Part II” announces here that it’s playing a different and considerably less interesting game, but it’s a bravura sequence.

“Part II” then jumps right to the end of the last one, moments after Evelyn victoriously cocked a shotgun. With their family's barn burning, and patriarch Lee dead in the fields, it’s time to leave home. Carrying her newborn baby, Evelyn travels with her daughter Regan and son Marcus (Noah Jupe) off the sand path that had previously been laid by Lee, past the gravesite of their young son from the beginning of the first movie. Regan has her cochlear implant in hand, looking to further weaponize it after its feedback proved at the end of the first movie to give the monsters debilitating headaches (or something like that). Her search for more people sets them on a course for a signal, and the unknown of humanity.

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With part one focusing on sacrifice for family, this sequel now concerns what one would give up to help others. Cillian Murphy plays the bleary Emmett, the newest addition to the series, a family friend from the ball game who ponders this question when he refuses to help the Abbotts after they step into the abandoned factory he lords over. He is incredibly resistant at first, especially given his own loss and waning food supply. And he warns Evelyn of looking for others, talking about how there are now “people who aren’t worth saving.” Emmett has an intriguing bitterness, until the film’s overall emotional growth is reduced to Emmett learning to follow the gospel of all-American hero Lee, which is not the only cheesy idea that Krasinski takes too seriously. And yet within the movie’s fear of other humans, it does ramp up a good bit of fear later on with people who are less giving than the Abbotts: it’s scary when a group of people are staring at you, and not saying a word.

As his characters venture into new territory, it’s solid craftsman Krasinski who is noticeably not taking many risks. He leads with intention, and he’s confident with multiple threads at once, and in putting every cast member (including the baby!) in uncomfortable danger. And yet any time he’ll do something really radical—like bring Regan to the forefront, alone with shotgun in hand—he eventually shirks from it for a development that’s noticeably easier. Or in some cases, he’ll rely on an easy scare with a dead body popping into frame, piling on the movie's numerous loud noises for scares. The series’ original appeal of minimal, hushed dialogue is toyed with too, as “Part II” bends some of the rules eagerly enforced all for the sake of quiet-ish conversations that streamline emotions in a way that’s far less eloquent than the sign language in the original.

The performances remain sound, and intense, even if the story gives little space for them. Blunt is in more of a straightforward action mode, having already proven how bad-ass she was in the first movie, still embodying a great deal of physical stress and the maternal urge to protect. Jupe and Simmonds are true professionals when it comes to crying, screaming terror, and they both bring out a tenderness to this story of discovery with glimmers of hope. And Krasinski remains good at casting interesting faces for their intensity—Murphy’s face can show a certain weariness in different lights, and here he looks beat, mysterious, but human. Djimon Hounsou and Scoot McNairy also lend their unique presences to this movie, but that’s all that can really be said.

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The only entity that moves faster than Michael P. Shawver’s editing are the monsters themselves. But there’s no love for them from the story—they’re like an actor in an ensemble who has to be there contractually, even though no one would invite them to the wrap party. Aside from falling from the sky, they'renot further developed by Krasinski, and the amount of focus this story gives to them shines a light on how weakly conceivedthey are (however impeccably rendered by ILM). Krasinski’s interest in going against explainer fan culture—good luck with this one, YouTube—is intriguing, but the lack of background feels like he just has too little to say about his monsters. They become plainly dull villains here, aggressively silencing human beings with a slash or a toss, and, ho hum, that’s it. Two movies in, and their mystery is starting to hint that there’s no there there.

What’s surprising about the whole “A Quiet Place” emotional experience largely fades here, especially as all of this unfolds with a numbing amount of max-volume slams, bangs, and bass warbles; Marco Beltrami's score brings in the original's meditative themes when it'snot trying toblow you to the back of the theater. But the moments in which humans and monsters clash are incredibly robust and kinetic, and succeed at getting you to think of nothing else in the story but the terror on screen. Along with cinematographer Polly Morgan and editor Shawver, Krasinski proves highly adept at building and layering in-your-face sequences, especially as three different storylines climax with beloved characters screaming for their lives. One of Krasinski's best visual touches involves two scenes that trap the viewer into a point-of-view of being in a fast car, like at the beginning when Evelyn is trying to speed-reverse from a hijacked bus. These thrilling sequences give the film plenty of adrenaline at its beginning and end, and play like a nod from a still-evolving Krasinski: he’s embracing “enjoy your ride” filmmaking, even if that can encourage a viewer’s passivity. Here’s hoping that “Part III” leaves more room for what got people talking in the first place.

Available only in theaters May 28.

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Film Credits

A Quiet Place Part II movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert (9)

A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

Rated PG-13

97 minutes

Cast

Emily Bluntas Evelyn Abbott

Cillian Murphyas Emmett

Millicent Simmondsas Regan Abbott

Noah Jupeas Marcus Abbott

Wayne Duvallas Roger

John Krasinskias Lee Abbott

Director

  • John Krasinski

Writer (characters)

  • Scott Beck
  • Bryan Woods

Writer

  • John Krasinski

Cinematographer

  • Polly Morgan

Editor

  • Michael P. Shawver

Composer

  • Marco Beltrami

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A Quiet Place Part II movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert (2024)

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A Quiet Place Part II movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert? ›

In its best moments, “A Quiet Place Part II

A Quiet Place Part II
A Quiet Place (2018) is the first film in the series, which was followed by the sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2020), both directed by John Krasinski. The spin-off prequel, A Quiet Place: Day One, is directed by Michael Sarnoski and was released on June 28, 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › A_Quiet_Place_(film_series)
” reminded me of Steven Spielberg cutting loose with “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” letting his beasts rampage through a new environment in a staggering way. Even if this sequel remains firmly in the shadows of the original, I wanted part three as soon as it was over.

Is A Quiet Place 2 worth it? ›

A Quiet Place Part II is a great sequel to Part I. Sequels are usually not as good as their predecessor, and this is accurate here, but the difference is not big. Both of them are enjoyable movies.

Which movie is better quiet place 1 or 2? ›

The second Quiet Place film surprised me. No, it wasn't as good as the first film but it was still a quality continuation of the story of the Abbott family, and it expanded the post-apocalyptic world this franchise is slowly crafting that much more, with new communities, characters and monster intel.

Which movie is scarier quiet place 1 or 2? ›

A Quiet Place: Day One Is Scarier Than The Previous Movies

What makes A Quiet Place: Day One work is the way it infuses suspense into every action taken by Sam or Eric. Looking for medicine or getting out of the rain can quickly become lethal endeavors if they make too much noise and get found out by one of the aliens.

Are there any inappropriate scenes in A Quiet Place 2? ›

The film contains multiple violent sequences, in which a family defends itself against alien creatures. They use firearms, fire and traps to kill the creatures. Some injuries and blood is depicted. Some scenes show decaying bodies and skeletons.

What was the point of a quiet place 2? ›

A Quiet Place highlighted Lee and Evelyn's kids as needing protection, but also their need to protect each other. A Quiet Place II expands upon this theme of the children rising up to take charge and protect their parents as well.

What is the best A Quiet Place movie? ›

1) A Quiet Place (2018)

Though it suffers from the same issues as its sequels, John Krasinski's A Quiet Place deserves respect for its original premise and ability to mine the most from its concept and is at the top of our list of A Quiet Place movies.

Why did they leave the farm in A Quiet Place 2? ›

Millbrook, as well as many other locations on Earth, was invaded by Death Angels on June 18, 2020. The Abbotts remained near Millbrook and lived on the farm until the 473rd day of the invasion, leaving after Lee sacrificed himself to save Marcus and Regan and a fire damaged some of their home.

Why was A Quiet Place 2 so short? ›

Because of the thorough set-up, Krasinski provided in the original and his subsequent worldbuilding off of that for the second, the movies really don't need to be much longer than 90 minutes.

What's the difference between A Quiet Place and a quiet place part 2? ›

A Quiet Place: Day One, the franchise's first prequel, takes the timeline back to the earliest days of the alien invasion, covering events from Day 1 to Day 4. A Quiet Place Part II picks up mere seconds after the first movie ends.

What disease did Girl in Quiet Place have? ›

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o stars as Samira, a terminally ill cancer patient who leaves hospice to explore New York City with her service cat Frodo. But her trip is disrupted when alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing invade Earth.

What illness does Sam have in A Quiet Place? ›

Sam was a terminally ill cancer patient who lived in a Hospice Network in New York along with her service cat, Frodo. She was seen to be very pessimistic due to her deteriorating health, with her cat as her only joy.

What condition did the girl in A Quiet Place: Day One have? ›

Samira "Sam", a pessimistic, terminally ill cancer patient, lives at a hospice outside New York City with her cat, Frodo. Reuben, a nurse, convinces a reluctant Sam to join a group outing to a marionette show in Manhattan. While in the city, the group notices meteor-like objects falling from the sky.

Why are they barefoot in A Quiet Place 2? ›

The Abbotts go barefoot in order to avoid attracting the attention of the alien monsters that hunt by sound. For someone who has managed to survive the attack thus far, it's surprising to see Emmett wearing shoes. But the shoes represent more than just a choice by Emmett.

What is the most suspenseful scene in A Quiet Place? ›

Top 10 Scariest Scenes In A Quiet Place
  • #8: Crying Baby. ...
  • #7: Truck Attack. ...
  • #6: Screaming Old Man. ...
  • #5: Beau at the Bridge. ...
  • #4: Flooded Basement. ...
  • #3: Drowning in Silo. ...
  • #2: The Opening. ...
  • #1: The Nail.

How scary is A Quiet Place II? ›

Almost as scary and intense as the original, A Quiet Place Part II will leave audiences on the edge of their seats -- and waiting for Part III.

Is Silence 2 worth watching? ›

There are twists, but they might not blow your mind. If you enjoyed Silence 1, you'll probably find things to like here. It's familiar - gritty Mumbai, determined cop - but not quite as captivating. Still, for a quick binge with a strong Bajpayee performance, Silence 2 might be worth a shot!

Is A Quiet Place 2 really scary? ›

What to Know. A nerve-wracking continuation of its predecessor, A Quiet Place Part II expands the terrifying world of the franchise without losing track of its heart. Almost as scary and intense as the original, A Quiet Place Part II will leave audiences on the edge of their seats -- and waiting for Part III.

Was quiet place 2 successful? ›

Making Day One the most successful debut in the blockbuster franchise – A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II opened to $50 million and $47 million, respectively. The debut skyrocketed even in IMAX with roughly $12.5 million.

Is quiet place 2 a hit? ›

Box office. A Quiet Place Part II grossed $160.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $137.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $297.4 million.

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