A Quiet Place 2

If nothing else, I'm primarily impressed with how these films seem like a cinematic franchise built out of the raptors in the kitchen sequence from Jurassic Park. This is the very rare sequel that at the very least is equal to what came before and it reminded me how much I missed going to the movies.

This one picks up where the first one ended. There is a small backstory about the first day the creatures landed on earth. Director John Krasinski builds suspense through pacing, a slow buildup to when someone, as careful as they are, inevitably makes a loud noise that unleashes the slaughter. Krasinski likes to use wide angle shots of people running for their lives as the monsters fly into the frame. Silence is followed by a cacophony of screams.

We see more of the creatures this time, a sort of reptilian extraterrestrial concoction. Newcomer Cillian Murphy plays a survivalist who has lost everything. But the strength of the first A Quiet Place, as with the sequel, are the emotional, powerful performances from Emily Blunt, and her onscreen children, played by Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. Simmonds especially, blends courage and compassion, garnering our support, so that she becomes the hero.

The ending leaves the door open to a third installment.

I liked how the story begins with how the whole invasion began. They should have spent more time on this. As a matter of fact, this should have been a worldwide view of how humanity failed against the invasion. Instead, you get a story that at times makes you wonder if you missed something (on the pier especially). Also, the son appears to have gotten stupid since the first movie. The ending is rather contrived. With all the periods of silence in the movie and the style of showing two or three parts of the story all intermingled at once, you get very aware of the director "doing something". It weakens the film. The ending is so contrived that you think....."say whattttt". The characters' decisions in this movie make for many plot holes where their actions in the original are not something you question. So is the sequel how they get the daughter's discovery out there, If you can believe no one else figured this out. For that matter, I wondered how this type of creature can create and fly a spaceship. Do they multiply here? Were they kicked off a planet like Alien Nation? These creatures don't seem to have intelligence, organization or government. It's like the dinosaurs figured out how to build a spaceship and fly through space. The movie grossed about $350 million so there will be an unnecessary sequel. Watch a movie called "Earth vs. The Flying Saucers" from the mid-1950s and you will see the same "discovery" on how to kill the monsters.

The good: The film in of itself, is well made - everything from cinematography to lighting, sound, action, pacing etc. Big props for that. And of course the acting from the leads (including the younger actors) is excellent. I also like the way the 'passing of the torch' is shot - clearly defined parallels are drawn that make it easy to see the directors vision.

The bad: Probably it's biggest criticism is just how close it is to the 1st part. Whilst containing less of what made the first one special. This film is definitely more action - so it's not a complete replica, but the story beats and plotting are basically the same - hide from aliens, get supplies, escape from or stop aliens, : rinse and repeat.

Should you watch it: If you like the first one, absolutely. It's a well constructed film that moves at a quick pace (almost over too quickly). A solid horror action flick. Recommended.

I do not understand all the bad reviews.. I see a lot of reviews saying this one was the same as the first one, I don't see it that way. It was an extension of the first one. I also see people saying that the first one was bad and that this one is even worse. Why did you want to see this one if you didn't even like the first one? Than you probably didn't even give it a chance. I thought the movie was very thrilling. The first movie was different, this one had far more action in it. But I liked both of them equally. I saw it in theaters and was on the edge of my seat the whole movie. The acting was good, there were some nice details and it was very exciting. And yes, some characters did some stupid things, but those were things that fit the characters. If you have any empathy, you can imagine how the characters would feel and why they acted the way they did. I also really liked it that they gave an insight on how it had all begun.