"A Quiet Place Part II": Silence is Golden

Platform: In Theaters

Release Date: May 28, 2021

In understanding the context of this movie, the most important distinction to note is that the subtitle is not just “2 or II,” it is specifically “Part II”. This is not a film that simply follows the remaining members of the Abbott family on a new survival adventure. It picks up directly where the first film ended and continues that same exact story and plot lines, along with a few additional ones. I am not one for avoiding trailers, but I am weary of seeing too much of a film before I actually see it in full, so I do not know if the trailers directed the audience towards that conclusion. Not only did it serve the original story well as a second part, but it also had enough elements of new story to feel like a full sequel to the world established in the first film outside of the Abbott family specifically.

The movie begins with a flashback scene that shows the first day of the invasion as experienced by the small community in which the Abbott family resides. The present timeline begins by directly following the ending of the first film, immediately after Lee Abbott's sacrifice (John Krasinski) and the rest of the family's final stand in the basement, as they emerge from the basement for the first time. Continuing to follow the contingency plans created by Lee, Evelyn (Emily Blunt), Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and the unnamed newborn baby head deeper into the Appalachian valley. After coming upon a bunker results in an injury that grounds Marcus, they meet an old friend of Lee's, Emmett (Cillian Murphy) who was introduced through the flashback scene. While at Emmett's bunker, Regan sneaks off when she thinks she has deciphered a radio message that signals the location of more survivors. Emmett is reluctantly guilted into going after Regan, resulting in him being guilted again into helping her on her quest. Meanwhile, back at the bunker, Evelyn travels into town for supplies, leaving the injured Marcus to look after the baby. Both plot lines are, of course, riddled with the tensions of avoiding the sound sensitive alien creatures trying to wipe them out.

The character development continues to be one of the strongest aspects of this series, with an all around great acting performance and a strong focus on the multiple dimensions of humanity amidst the continued threat of alien creatures. The end of the first film shows Evelyn taking the position of protector following Lee's death. This film sees a similar transition, but in the two children instead, with Regan getting the trust she needed to fully form into the hopeful and tactful survivor she demonstrated in the first film and Marcus being placed in the right position to push past his fear to take a stand as protector of his family. The latter provided some of the most interesting development since I felt Regan's growth was a bit expected and not as surprising. The other major character development in the movie, that of Emmett, helps exemplify that exploration of humanity alluded to earlier. He actually comes out to be a well-rounded character in his development, from the decent person in the flashback to the grief-stricken, unhopeful man they met at the bunker and finally back around to having a more positive outlook for humanity's future. While every character played their part really well, I felt as though Emmett came off as the most multi-dimensional of them all and is someone I would hope to see continue in the series (should it continue).

As stated earlier, this movie expands much more on the world that was largely ignored in the first film since it was focused solely on the Abbott family and their home. Without spoilers, the movie presents information about four different characterizations of society: the family, the loner, the savage, the community, and the panicked. Each of which lends its own unique pros and cons to the aspect of survival, which remains the primary focus of the characters. I specifically identify that since there have been so many sequels that lose the essence of the original film, but Krasinski was sure to maintain it throughout this second part. Other than introducing Emmett's character, the flashback sequence that opens the movie was pivotal in setting the contrast between the pre- and post-invasion world that was missing in the first film. That not only helped establish how and why characters have made certain decisions, but it also provided some of the most thrilling action sequences of the movie. Without any knowledge of the creatures, there is much more mayhem to be had during that time before people learn tricks to combating the creatures.

It has already been a few paragraphs and I have not really spoken much about the creatures. There was no change with them, no evolution, but we, instead, see the continued evolution of combating the creatures using the high audio frequency from Regan's hearing aid that was discovered in the first movie. I did not experience anywhere close to the amount of tension that I felt watching the first movie, but that can be a result of desensitization from seeing the first movie more so than the actual storytelling. Though, I did feel as though there were elements introduced in this film that lessened the threat of the creatures that amped the thriller aspect of the first film: such as the furnace in the bunker. There is still tension to be had, but as the progression from the first movie suggests, there has to be new challenges for the characters to overcome so that the sequel does not feel like a rehash of the first.

Ultimately, "A Quiet Place Part II" is a strong sequel to a great thriller that expands on the story in almost all the right ways. Strong acting performances continue to drive the heart and soul of the story with enough action to keep the thrill alive. With this movie having a somewhat open-ended conclusion, similar to the first film, there is room and desire for a Part III to conclude this story.

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RATING: 🦻 🦻 🦻 🦻. 25 / 5