Opens in theaters only on Friday, May 28.
[Rating: Solid Rock Fist Up]
To sequel, or not to sequel, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the studio to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous profit loss from abandoned IP, or to take arms against a sea of critics and by opposing end them. It’s a question as old as Denmark, and one that director John Krasinski has openly spoken about when discussing his reluctance to return for A Quiet Place Part II. And while this second installment can’t boast the same level of economic storytelling and world building as its predecessor by nature of its very existence as a sequel (much of that work has already been done), it is a smart, taut, character-driven, and thematically integrated film that accomplishes everything it sets out to do.
Although someone else might have been able to direct the action or even the actors with the same confident precision to match the first installment, Krasinski’s presence behind the camera (and his solo credit on the screenplay this time) imbue the effort with a tactile familiarity that links both films. A Quiet Place Part II opens on the same street as the original, following Lee Abbott (Krasinski) as he walks into the pharmacy that his family visited early in the first film. Lee’s shoes and the casual noise he makes as he collects a bag of oranges lets the audience know that something’s different this time around, which a “Day 1” title card confirms as Lee finishes his shopping and heads over to the nearby baseball field for his son Marcus’ (Noah Jupe) game.
The idyllic scene with fellow baseball dad Emmett (Cillian Murphy), wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), and daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) turns nightmarish when a meteor streaks across the sky overhead, sending everyone to their cars. Mild concerns transforms into stampeding panic in a matter of minutes when the sound-hunting monsters from the first film appear on Main Street, giving the audience a glimpse of the earliest hours of what everyone later refers to as, “that day.” Jumping ahead to “Day 474,” the film picks up minutes after the last one ended, as Evelyn, Regan, Marcus, and the baby try to figure out where to go now that their farm is burned down and flooding.
Forced out of their well-supplied, semi-sound-proofed stronghold, the Abbott family has some protection from the creatures with Regan’s modified cochlear implant device, yet they are alone, exposed, and still reeling from the loss of family patriarch, Lee. When they happen upon former family acquaintance Emmett at an abandoned mill, hard decisions are made and the themes of loss and grief from the first film resurface. Like the Abbotts, Emmett has suffered a great deal over the last 474 days, and warns them that the monsters they tip-toe around aren’t the only thing the survivors have to fear in the new post-meteor world.
Yet if this film was just another rehash of the classic zombie trope of, “the real monsters are us” that has been done to death by The Walking Dead and other film and T.V. offerings of that genre, it wouldn’t be even half as good as it is. Sure, this would have given the economic 90-minute sequel more than enough runway to execute its action set pieces using all of the creature world-building from the original, but Krasinski is less interested in the freaky praying mantis aliens and more concerned with the ways their murderous appearance has recalibrated the lives of the main characters. The concept of the original was fresh and exciting, sure, but what made it so special was its nuanced exploration of grief and despair amid pulse-pounding action and suspense.
By giving the audience the “Day 1” cold open, A Quiet Place Part II provides a thrilling snapshot of the earliest moments of the monster crisis, but also a baseline for who these people were before “that day.” Lee and Evelyn were always quick thinkers with an unwavering devotion to their kids, and their actions during the onset of the crisis serve as convincing outlines for what each will become. A sequel about this family’s continuing struggle to survive would have been exciting, (the creatures and the conceit surrounding their functionality are spectacular), but it would have only scratched the surface of the thematic riches still waiting to be mined.
In Part II, Krasinski wisely splits his characters up for big chunks of the film to explore new dynamics and growth within the story. Regan’s quest to find a radio signal that can boost her implant’s kill signal, and Emmett’s chase after her, build on the young woman’s emerging independence teased in the first installment, and allow Simmonds the room she needs to showcase a compelling performance that goes toe-to-toe with her very accomplished peers. Likewise, Jupe and Blunt get more time together this time around to explore Marcus’ developing maturity (which is forced upon him like a battlefield promotion), and what it means to step outside of one’s self for the larger unit.
Buttressed by game-changing sound design work, which informed so much of the original’s success, along with gorgeous cinematography by DP Polly Morgan, this is the rare action/suspense sequel that doesn’t just work, but justifies its existence beyond an established IP come-backer. This could have been little more than a continuation of a well-established monster story with a handful of jump-scares and creature effects that coast on the goodwill of the original, but Karasinski goes deeper. Pushing in on the trauma, growth, and resilience of the characters, and opening the world just enough to give additional info without ruining the magic of the unknown, A Quiet Place Part II should indeed “be,” rather than, “not to be.” If that is the question, Krasinski has answered.
“Obvious Child” is the debut novel of Warren Cantrell, a film and music critic based out of Seattle, Washington. Mr. Cantrell has covered the Sundance and Seattle International Film Festivals, and provides regular dispatches for Scene-Stealers and The Playlist. Warren holds a B.A. and M.A. in History, and his hobbies include bourbon drinking, novel writing, and full-contact kickboxing.
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