"A Quiet Place Part II" is finally emerging into theaters after being shelved just as the world was beginning to shut down in March 2020. For most critics it was one of the last movies screened, in anticipation of its release last year, as the world stood hesitantly by waiting to fully understand what was to come. It's interesting seeing such movies a year-plus after they were originally supposed to open in theaters. Time is a tricky thing, especially in the entertainment industry, and most titles have a certain amount of time to go out for mass consumption before feeling like an afterthought. Hopefully, for those who feel safe and ready, "A Quiet Place Part II" will mark a return to the communal experience of movie-going, especially after the original film surprised us all in 2018 (it appeared on my personal Top 10 that year) and made more money than the entire team behind the movie could have dreamed about.
(Warning: This paragraph contains spoilers from the FIRST "A Quiet Place" only)
The first movie had a novelty to it that's impossible to recapture, but much to director John Krasinski's credit, that's not what he's striving for with the sequel. "Part II" picks up where the first one left off, after Krasinski's character died to save his children. Emily Blunt returns as Evelyn, who must lead her two kids (Noah Jupe and Millicient Simmonds, both extraordinarily talented young actors) and newborn baby to any form of safety - if such a thing even exists - while trying to evade monsters that are activated by sound. Along the way, they join Emmett (Cillian Murphy, a fine addition) and seek shelter with him.
"A Quiet Place Part II" could easily be written off as more of the same, but what Krasinski established with the first movie was so great that more of the same feels welcome. "A Quiet Place" used every moment of its 90-minute runtime to effectively create a tense atmosphere, and that is achieved here again, but the sequel strikes a more somber tone. Evelyn is no longer a part of a team in keeping her children safe; now it's her sole responsibility, and watching her navigate a dangerous life without her husband allows for an added layer of dramatic weight.
During the press tours for the first movie and the sequel, Krasinski constantly referred to these works as "a love letter to his children," a description he admittedly knows is deranged given the material. Crazy as it may sound, it's exactly what has been achieved with this pair of movies. There are plenty of thrills and violent moments, but at the forefront is the family drama, and it never feels shoehorned into the thriller aspects of the movies. If anything, that drama lives at the forefront of the "A Quiet Place" movies, and the horror elements are secondary. It's an interesting and daring balance, which Krasinski has now achieved twice.
There's a risk of going to the well one too many times when surprise hits turn into franchises (there's a third installments in the works) so hopefully "A Quiet Place" doesn't spawn a dozen movies. If they had kept it at one (but how could they ever when money is on the table?), "A Quiet Place" would have been a truly impressive feat. Luckily, the sequel is a worthy follow-up, and Krasinski continues to prove that he is more than the affable goof from "The Office," with a signature shrug and smirk at the camera.
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