Sans un bruit 2

.......and if you enjoyed the first one then you'll certainly enjoy this one too.

Most sequels that flop tend to do so because the powers that be think the audience simply want exponentially more of the same thing that was in the original. More bad guys, more explosions, much, much more of everything. Except story and depth and character development.

A Quiet Place II, thankfully, doesn't fall into that trap. It starts almost exactly where it left off. Right at the point in fact, where we were left wanting to see more in the first film. Then it simply and effectively expands on the original.

Overall I rate it as good as the first instalment, if not marginally better in places. If it has any fault at all, it's in the runtime which, IMHO, is a tad short. We definitely wanted to see more though and who knows, maybe there'll be a third one? Let's hope so.

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.

Cannot believe the number of people who are claiming this movie is the same as the first. Just ridiculous! I have to wonder whether they saw the same A Quiet Place Part 2 that I saw. It obviously follows similar themes but builds on the story and further develops the characters. You have to give it up to writer/producer/director and actor John Krasinski. He has delivered a sequel which really enhances the story he introduced in Part 1 but this time, is played out on a much broader canvas.

He also cleverly begins with an absolutely gripping prologue, that gives us a little more information about the alien arrival, which is something many of the whiners, moaned for, after seeing Part 1. It also has the dual function of reintroducing his character into the story, which I personally found very satisfying.

It's very clear many of the complainants just haven't really watched the movie closely. I do admit though, you probably do need half a brain, a short term memory capability of more than 10 seconds and also be not constantly looking at your phone, to fully appreciate the subtleties of Krasinski's work.

The sand is there to reduce sound on the Abbot's property when walking between there and town barefoot* (*also to reduce noise). Seriously hard to believe people haven't worked that out yet. Lee, the dad was a clever guy and in the time span from Day 1 up to the events in the first film, you can see from his depicted work area, that he has sussed out a lot of things about the aliens and taken steps around his property to help protect his family. Similarly we should assume from visual hints provided, that wife Evelyn, played by the wonderful Emily Blunt, is likely to have some sort of professional medical background. She knows a lot about specific medicines and equipment to salvage from the town pharmacy and was obviously prepared and wanted to have another child, after the early events we saw in the previous film. This is why she heads back on a dangerous solo effort to the chemist to pick up further treatments for Marcus's injured foot. Those people saying the characters behave unrealistically are I'm afraid, just clueless.

Similarly it's fundamental to recognise that Regan is not an "annoying, naughty teenager". She's extremely clever, determined and yes, quite wilful. But this is consistent with her behaviour across both films. It's not just a convenient contrivance to move the plot along that she heads out by herself. She is convinced, she has the means and know - how to save humanity, as she tries to explain to her mother via the medium of ASl. The real life hearing impaired Millicent Simmonds is perfect in the role.

I loved the way Krasinski expands the story outwards. We see vastly more after effects of the invasion and also again to satisfy the grumblers, get to see the creatures in greater detail. Cillian Murphy hits the right acting notes too, in his portrayal of Emmett, a former apparently close friend of Lee's, who is now a hardened, reclusive survivor, but proves vital in helping the various Abbott family members.

The only concession I'll give to the naysayers is that, yes, for extended periods, the baby is unusually quiet. Marcus has also clearly grown in height over the 2 year gap between the movies being made, but there's not much the producers could do about that. We just have to grin and accept it.

This is a marvel of a sequel that smartly avoids any attempt to recapture the original, instead expanding its world in every way possible. Brisk, crisp, efficient, and full of masterful sequences of suspense, A Quiet Place 2 is an ideal follow - up to the outstanding opening chapter of what is clearly designed to be a trilogy.

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.

Although AQPII is not bad, it does look like an attempt to cash in. There's a few problems with it and most of them are in the storyline. Here is an overall difference with the first film:

In the first one, there was a clear storyline, almost no plot holes, novelty and the right amount of tension.

In part 2 however , you kind of know exactly what is about to happen and that lessens the film experience.

For example, the tropes used in this film, are all the classics. Yes, they were used in the 1st film too, but at least then they were timed and deployed better, so the tension was nicely built and a sense of unpredictability was evident.

Now in part 2, I have a feeling that the story was a bit of a stretch. Also, the motives of the protagonists were at times unjustified, just to push the story forward.

So the story ends up with flaws, which disappoint mostly because of the predictability and the too many cliches. I would want to mention a few which I m sure many noticed but better not to spoil it. You will know once you see.

Also, it's not as quiet as the first film. Sound editing is great also in this one, but maybe there were more speech moments than needed.

Overall, the good parts: tension is there, cinematography is beautiful once again and we get to see some good acting.

I do hope that there's a part 3 and I hope they improve the story.

6,9/10.