Title – A Quiet Place Part 2 (2020)

Director – John Krasinski (A Quiet Place)

Cast – Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou

Plot – Forced to leave their homes, the Abbott family must make a trek through the dangerous woods that surround their old residence too seek shelter in a landscape filled with vicious alien beings drawn to any sound they may make.

“Silence is not enough” 

Review by Eddie on 24/05/2021

Make no doubt about it, the man who loves his bare feet Mr. Quentin Tarantino will most surely be thrilled with the amount of bare feet shots present in John Krasinski’s follow-up to his surprising box office smash from 2018, part 2 of A Quiet Place; for this is undoubtedly a foot fans fever dream.

Whether they like their feet dirty, bloodied or bandaged, the big screen has never looked so good from the perspective of foot fiend.

When it comes to the actual film here we get as a final product (a final product that was one of the highest profile delays of last year’s Covid-19 scramble at the last minute), Part 2 is a tension riddled sequel to a film that had no right being as good as it was and while the uniqueness of the first film and surprisingly great concept and delivery of it is gone here as we are more aware of what is in store, Krasinski still crafts a polished and white knuckle thriller ride that’s tailor-made for the big screen shared experience people are still wary about participating in.

Kicking off with what could unfortunately be considered the films best set-piece as we are taken all the way back to day one of the moment the world was overtaken by a nasty sound focused alien race, Part 2 starts with a bang and Krasinski shows his growing skills here as director with some fantastically designed moments of terror and thrills then gets things going right from when the first movie finished with Emily Blunt’s Evelyn Abbott and family jetting off from their overrun farm to find shelter and safety in surrounds near-by.

What happens from here is better left explored by eager cinemagoers but as is to be expected things don’t go too smoothly for the Abbott’s as they find themselves undertaking various missions in order to survive, as well as coming to terms with Cillian Murphy’s old acquaintance Emmett, who has had his own battles to deal with in the new world everyone finds themselves in.

There was always a fear Part 2 would try and go too large in a universe that really benefited from keeping things small-scale in the first outing but those fears can be laid to rest fairly early with Part 2 still a character focused exercise that’s built around some key set-ups and scenarios that at times might frustrate in how they got to where they were but still thrill and entertain as they take place in the moment even if the characters we grew too love first time around don’t all get the benefit of the screen time you might’ve expected.

A breakout star from the original, Millicent Simmonds as teenager Regan really gets time to shine here and its always a joy to see Cillian Murphy get a chance to be a part of such a high-profile production but surprisingly Emily Blunt and Noah Jupe as Noah get relatively little too do here and you sense that the film lacks a little impact because of this and while everything here is edited and put together in an extremely professional manner, there’s a distinct lack of scares present here this time around and while audiences are likely to be spending the majority of their time with hand in popcorn rather than eating it thanks to the tense nature of the film and many silent scenes, Part 2 lacks significant moments of impact this time around with the film unlikely to be spoken about in the same manner as the first when it comes to jump scares and iconic moments.

Final Say –

A rare sequel that doesn’t tarnish the name of its forefather, A Quiet Place Part 2 is a top-notch thriller and sees growth from Krasinski in his directing craft but while its highly enjoyable in the moment and a great experience for return cinemagoers, Part 2 of this budding universe does lack the surprise and memorability of the first outing and is unlikely to create much in the way of a lasting legacy.

3 ½ first aid boxes out of 5