A QUIET PLACE PART II
(director/writer:John Krasinski; screenwriter: character credits to Scott Beck and Bryan Woods: cinematographer: Polly Morgan; editor: Michael P. Shawyer; music: Marco Beltram; cast: John Krasinski (Lee Abbott), Emily Blunt (Evelyn Abbott), Millicent Symonds (Regan Abbott), Cillian Murph (Cillian Murph), Noah Jupe (Marcus Abbott), Djimon Hounsou (Man on Island), Dean Woodward (Beau Abbott); Runtime: 97; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Michael Bay/Andrew Form/Brad Fuller/John Krasinski; Paramount Pictures; 2020)
“Slick but endearing sequel.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Director-writer John Krasinski (“The Hollars”/”A Quiet Place”) follows his survival sci-fi hit A Quiet Place (2018) with this slick but endearing sequel. Krasinki writes it himself this time without Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, as he builds the story to greater heights.
It opens with a super prelude, showing us again briefly the time just before the invasion, with characters in the small town pharmacy as panic and terror hits Earth when suddenly invaded by the revolting blind beasts whose supersensitive hearing forces humans to survive only by being silent. The slightest noise would make them vulnerable to an attack.
The Abbott family, a well-heeled and wholesome Midwestern nuclear family unit, struggle to exist during the apocalyptic alien invasion.
In the sequel, Lee Abbott (John Krasinski), the patriarch, is no longer with them, as he died protecting his family (but makes a cameo in a flashback).
In the new version, the Abbott’s lost their comfort-zone country farmhouse and are now forced out into the post-invasion world to seek a new safe haven. Here they face continual perilous moments, as danger is everywhere.
The hearty, protective, loving and caring mom, Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s real-life wife), and her three children (the deaf teenager Regan-Millicent Symonds, the injured kid brother Marcus- Noah Jupe, and the crying infant) leave behind their ruined farm, armed with their newly found audio weapon (the cochlear implant in Regan’s ear). They encounter Emmett (Cillian Murphy), an old family friend now broken-hearted after the death of his wife. He hides in a bunker beneath an abandoned industrial plant, but refuses to allow Evelyn and the children to stay. But in the end proves to be a decent sort.
Regan believes a song playing on a radio at Emmett’s is a clue to how she can find fellow survivors and feels that she has the equipment needed to transmit the audio frequency which would render the monsters helpless. Thereby she takes off on her own in the middle of the night, while the fearful Evelyn begs Emmett to go after Regan while she stays behind with her injured son Marcus and the infant.
Despite glaring plot holes, the film is a delight. Tensions mount, there are plenty of scares, it’s well-acted (Simmonds, the real-life deaf actress’ performance excels) and the thrill-ride pic is a well-produced film that makes for top-notch entertainment.
REVIEWED ON 5/29/2021 GRADE: B