This sequel to the surprise hit A Quiet Place offers more of the same. Did you like all the scenes of Emily Blunt and her family tiptoeing around a desolate wasteland while trying to avoid detection by CGI monsters in the first movie? This one has a lot more of them.
Director John Krasinski starts things off with a bang with a flashback to the first day of the monster attack. From there, we pick up from the events of the last film. Part of what made the original a tight, well-oiled machine was the family dynamic. The sequel splinters the family into thirds, which kind of dilutes some of the power, especially whenever Krasinski is cutting back and forth between the groups as they are simultaneously fighting for their lives.
The narrative is mostly a series of side quests. The family meets up with another survivor (Cillian Murphy) who begrudgingly helps Blunt’s daughter (Millicent Simmonds) to a radio station to broadcast a signal that could kill the monsters once and for all. Meanwhile, Blunt is off looting the ruins of suburbia looking for medicine for her wounded son (Noah Jupe) while he stays behind to guard his newborn sibling from the monsters.
All things considered, it’s a solid, if unspectacular follow-up. It lacks the freshness of the original and when it tries to open up the world-building aspects of the universe, it’s only a half-measure. While the third act builds up a little hope for the future of mankind, the abrupt cut-to-black ending doesn’t do it any favors.
Blunt is quite good, and her screen presence helps elevate what could’ve been a ho-hum sequel into something slightly more watchable. You’ve got to give her credit. It maybe the end of the world, but her hair and make-up game is on point. Not many actresses could look this good while evading monsters after the apocalypse. Sure, you might have to protect your family from alien creatures after society has crumbled, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look your best doing it.
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