Film Review: A Quiet Place Part II gives us all a reason to return to the cinema

4 stars Starring Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe Rating M In cinemas Now Rewind back to January last year, so about three lifetimes ago, and you’ll find A Quiet Place Part II on just about every film critic’s list of the top-10 most-anticipated movies of the coming year. Obviously, COVID-19 made a mockery of every year-ahead prediction piece — *makes mental note to include doomsday prediction in all such pieces in the future* — but it doesn’t change why critics were so excited to see the movie. And it was because the first Quiet Place film, which was released in 2018, was such a bloody balltearer. Who could forget seeing that opening sequence in the cinema for the first time, spellbound as John Krasinski and Emily Blunt and their on-screen kids navigate a post-apocalyptic world in near silence, lest they draw the attention of terrifying, sound-seeking alien monsters? It’s one of the great cinematic moments of the past decade, and the first in a film that delivers many more of them. The film also announced director Krasinski (of The Office fame) as one of the most exciting new filmmakers in Hollywood, a sentiment Time magazine agreed with when it added him to its 100 most influential people in the world that year. The sequel picks up the action immediately after the events of the original, although technically A Quiet Place Part II begins with a flashback to the day the alien invasion first occurred. Yes, it’s hard to ignore the fact Noah Jupe’s character looks older in the flashback — that’s one of the perils of working with young actors who age quickly, but otherwise Krasinski’s opener is utterly riveting. Once the plot swings to current events, we find Blunt’s matriarch dealing with the baby she gave birth to in the final stages of the last movie, as well as the challenge of relocating across country with her other two kids, the timid Marcus (Jupe) and the deaf Regan (played by deaf actor Millicent Simmonds). As previously stated, this all happens while vicious aliens lurk around every corner, awaiting the slightest sound to embark on a killing spree. When Regan realises a radio transmitter may hold the answer to fighting the aliens, a dual plot emerges in which the deaf girl teams up with another survivor, played by the great Cillian Murphy, and Blunt’s character is left behind with the other kids. Nailbiting doesn’t come close to describing how it all goes down from there. Krasinski and Blunt, real-life husband and wife, nail their respective roles and Simmonds benefits from more screen time. While technically there may have been “better” films out since COVID hit, only Tenet rivals A Quiet Place Part II in demanding a return to the cinema.

Film Review: A Quiet Place Part II gives us all a reason to return to the cinema

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