A Quiet Place Part 2 (2021) Review
“There is nothing left.”
John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place (2018) released to acclaim from critics and audiences alike; essentially being a crowd-pleasing monster movie with a gimmick. And, to it’s benefit, the gimmick worked due to its breezy runtime but never pushed any boundaries to make it stand out in my eyes. Three years later, the sequel shifts gears slightly into being less of a horror film and more of an action one — to its benefit. It proves to be a more competently directed film than the first, with Krasinski mostly stepping back from acting this time around, and leaving it to everyone else to steal the show. And they do.
One of my gripes with this franchise so far has been the fact that nothing ever feels completely fresh; which is definitely a hard standard to hold anything to. But nonetheless — most scenes from these films can be taken out of context and put directly into a standard zombie film and no one would bat an eye. From other films within the “post-apocalyptic/monster” genre — light and sound have always played a huge role for our protagonist’s survival; so centering an entire movie around it just doesn’t wholly feel gripping to me. Even in Jurassic Park (1993) — the “big bad” T-Rex won’t notice you if you “keep absolutely still.” Granted, Krasinski takes a lot of inspiration here from Spielberg’s handbook -- though to varying levels of success; and unnecessary at times as well.
Krasinski paints a bleak world here but one with no impact in the end; it feels like a shadow of every post-apocalyptic movie you’ve ever seen. And for how hopeless the film’s world wants to make you believe it is, most character actions feel so hopeful and unfitting with the supposed “brutality” of the world itself. Where the film excels is with the performances of everyone involved — with Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmons keeping up with seasoned veterans like Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy alike. Krasinski’s attention to simplicity within the script works to its benefit here though; giving the actors many more opportunities to stand out in menial situations. In return, however, the film ends up feeling a little empty by the end which even its predecessor managed to do properly; land the ending. Recreating the original premise isn’t a unique thing to do for a sequel, but if done so, it has to push it further in ways that A Quiet Place: Part II just doesn’t reach.
The film is still a good time though and I’m curious to see where the franchise will go from here, but I think for it to stand out, it needs to build more impactful character interactions or expand the world in a toned-down manner Krasinski is going for. And I do appreciate Krasinski not pandering to info-dumping or exposition-heavy sequences like many blockbusters on this scale do; but it still just isn’t enough to warrant my attention for too long. Good, breezy, 90 minutes of fun that I probably won’t think about again till Part 3 comes out.
