Monday, June 7, 2021

A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

 

A Quiet Place Part II is a great sequel. The first scene is tense and the tension continues through the rest of the film. It doesn’t necessarily add anything new to the world we were introduced to in the first film, but honestly it doesn’t have to. Cillian Murphy becomes part of the main cast and he’s great. The original cast also continues to be great. 

The film opens on the day the earth was invaded. John Krasinski briefly reprises his role as he and the rest of his family try to survive that initial day. The camera switches perspectives frequently making you feel as if you’re there in real time. While you know the family survives at least that day, it isn’t any less tense watching them and the rest of the town trying to make it out alive.

What’s also effective is that the day in question starts like any other day. There’s something in China that killed millions of people, but in this small New York town, everyone is gathered for a youth baseball game. Suddenly a fire ball appears in the sky and it all goes down hill from there.

It’s an effective way to feel uneasy right from the start and that feeling never quite goes away. It at least answers the question of when and how they arrived. 

After the opening, the film begins immediately where the first one left off. Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and her children Regan (Millicent Simmons), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and the newborn baby leave the their home in search of help. Heading in the direction of the nearest fire signal, they find the warehouse where their old friend Emmett (Murphy) resides. Emmett is reluctant to help, but eventually gives in. 

This film is plot wise almost exactly as the first. This time though, Regan splits from her family and she and Emmett head toward a radio signal that will hopefully provide them with a way to fight the aliens. Evelyn, Marcus and the baby stay behind in the warehouse and must try to survive until the other two return. Both teams experience their own perils and the filmmakers do a fantastic job making you feel as though no one is safe.

There are major plot holes, but everything else is so well crafted that it almost doesn’t matter. There are also other complaints that will hopefully be fixed in part III because with that ending, it’s Mose definitely coming.

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