Once that was figured out, a solution to the alien scourge probably wouldn’t be far off. Surely someone in the military or government or something would have reached the same, somewhat accidental conclusion that Regan did in the first film: that a particular frequency of sound really messes with the aliens’ gigantic ears/brains. Which makes for a lopsided film, one whose returns ever diminish toward another sudden ending.Ī Quiet Place Part II instead gives us too much time to wonder why this particular world-ending event has been so, well, world-ending. There are other bursts of that confident verve elsewhere in the film, but none as tight and crisp and scary as that. Krasinksi is good at these kinetic sequences, the cold open in particular placing us palpably in a moment when all hell has broken loose. This ominous prologue is the best the film gets, adeptly balancing cosmic dread with monster action. There’s also an eerie flashback to when the sound-sensitive aliens first came to Earth, a bracing set piece that allows director and writer John Krasinski to appear in the film even though his character, Evelyn’s husband Lee, is dead in the present tense. The inevitable sequel, A Quiet Place Part II (in theaters May 28), picks up very soon after those events, with Evelyn and her three surviving children-baby Abbott and teenagers Regan ( Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus ( Noah Jupe)-leaving their tricked-out farmhouse and seeking out new safety. It was a nervily abrupt way to conclude the film, though of course it was ultimately more setup than style. Also, some of the screenplay’s conceptions of how society has disintegrated don’t really track.The first A Quiet Place film-a 2018 box office smash and unexpected awards-season contender-ended with Emily Blunt’s character, determined mom Evelyn, racking a shotgun and preparing for a likely fight to the death against aliens who have invaded Earth. Unlike last time and even at a tight 97 minutes, there are longueurs, and Krasinski fumbles moments of cross-cutting three lines of action, dissipating rather than generating tension. Instead, and not before a moment that will make you truly wince, they find Emmett ( Cillian Murphy in the trademarked survivalist uniform of cap and big beard), an old neighbour from the pre-invasion days whose run-ins with the creatures has unravelled his life and worldview.Īt this point, Krasinski (who has a sole screenwriting credit this time) decides to split up the protagonists - with some characters on a mission that might just see off the creatures completely (surprisingly key to this endeavour is an easy-listening standard) and others left behind to hold Emmett’s very small fort - and it’s here that the film’s grip starts to lessen. The Abbotts - mother Evelyn ( Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds, still the series’ MVP), son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and baby Abbott, who is carried around in a post-apocalypse-proofed carrycot - decide to leave home on a quest to find civilisation. Unlike last time, and even at a tight 97 minutes, there are longueurs.įast-forwarding to day 474, the action picks up just after the events of the first film (there are some not-so-subtle reminders of that nail and that bath).
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