A Quiet Place Part II Review

A Quiet Place Part II Review

By Randy McLeod

    I missed out on A Quiet Place when it first came out in theaters, and regretted it. Watching it at home with my family was good, but the rule to be quiet wasn't really enforced. We got through the first scene only to have somebody, (probably me), nervously try to break the suffocating silence. So, when the sequel was set to release last year, I was determined to experience it in theaters. Then, that thing happened where movies didn't come out anymore. 

    A Quiet Place Part II (AQP2) is a fantastic example of spectacle, without too much substance. For those that are unfamiliar, the world of A Quiet Place is hell. Freakish, gangly aliens have invaded Earth and roam the world, hunting for any sort of noise to attack without mercy. Civilization has fallen apart, with little-to-no survivors left. The world sucks, but people still want to survive. 

    In terms of structure, AQP2 isn't fantastic, and that's one of its biggest faults. The film isn't very long, only an hour and a half, and I think it could have benefited from a longer runtime. Characters set off to do things extremely quickly, keeping the plot zooming along, but there isn't much time left for motivations, reflection, or even character growth. Hell, I couldn't even tell you any of these characters names. I understand the difficulty to try and flesh these characters out more, as a large chunk of this film's dialogue is comprised of subtitles and sign language, but honestly, screenwriters, throw anybody an arc here. The most interesting characters, Cillian Murphy's Emmet and Millicent Simmonds' Regan, are only interesting because they get to do things and go places in the film, while Emily Blunt and Noah Jupe are quickly sidelined in favor of babysitting duty. 

    Critiques of character aside, this is a well-made thriller. The plot isn't as important as getting us to the next creature jump scare. It seems that the film had a bump in budget based on the amount of screen time the creatures of the film get, and it pays off. Anytime one of the aliens appeared on screen it instantly added a knot in my stomach. There's a fantastic set piece halfway through the film that has multiple planes of action going on, each tense in their own right, and it left me recoiling in terror for the entirety of the scene. The beginning of the film is also a standout, showing a slice of life before things go directly to hell. As for the ending, the film sort of does just that. It ends, with no resolution or follow up. It's as if the film ran out of ideas on what to do next, so it just stops. 

    I also want to quickly mention that the score is great. The film scarcely uses music whatsoever, opting for complete silence for most scenes, but it's the minimal approach that makes the score stand out whenever it was used. The final piece of music for the film is a highlight, with fantastic use of piano to sell the importance of the scene. 

    As I mentioned, Cillian Murphy and Millicent Simmonds are the highlights of the film, with a surprise performance from Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy, Gladiator) that was impactful for the time he was on screen. Millicent brings powerful emotion to her character, and represents a sect of actors that need to be on the screen more. She proves that disability, (the actress is deaf in real life and in the film), doesn't mean that people are unfit for the screen. Her performance is genuine and heartfelt, and I hope to see her in more projects in the future. Cillian's performance is strong as well, with many moments of the film requiring all of his emotion to be portrayed through his facial expressions alone. In this regard, he crushed it. Cillian and Millicent have good chemistry throughout, but they definitely could have used some moments of *quiet*, (excuse the pun), to deepen their relationship. Cillian's character simply goes along with Millicent's after little convincing, which could have been more impactful if he had his own motivations. The writers try to add some emotion to Cillian's character through his son, but it falls flat. We simply don't know him long enough, and his character is not established enough, to care about how he's feeling. It's unfortunate that so many of the characters in the film are one-dimensional, especially after the emotional impacts the characters had in the first film.  

    Overall, AQP2 is a great action set piece film with very well-crafted tension, but doesn't stand out as anything special from a story-telling perspective. Characters are either sidelined or aren't given motivations aside from "I want to go over there." As a creature feature, the movie is fantastic though. Krasinski has created a duo of films that are unique movie theater experiences, but seemed to lean on the spectacle more so than the heart in this follow up film. 

    After all that, however, I'm glad that this movie was my first back to the theater. It was an experience that I wouldn't be so high on had I watched it at home on Amazon Prime, and it has me hyped up to experience as many films as I can for the rest of the year in the movie theater.