One of the toughest things about having cinemas closed last year was that we missed the summer blockbuster window. You know the kind of movies I’m talking about: big, tent pole movies that you gather all your mates together for and grab your movie snacks and settle in to be thoroughly entertained. But A Quiet Place Part II was more than worth the wait. As good as the first and filled with more edge of your seat thrills, A Quiet Place: Part II begs to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Blockbuster filmmaking at its very, very best. One of my hands down favorite films of 2021. 

 

Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.

 

For those who have been living under some kind of rock and haven’t seen the 2018 original never fear; A Quiet Place Part II makes it super easy with a flashback kicking off the film giving us enough background of the Abbott family and the hideous alien creatures that hunt using sound to fully immerse ourselves in the film. 

 

Like the first film, narratively A Quiet Place Part II is quite simple; this is a scramble for survival. Starting up where the original left off, the story now follows the Abbott family as they split up: Evelyn to get more oxygen and medical supplies for her family, Regan is following a clue she heard over the radio to help save humanity and Marcus stays behind to look after the baby while creatures hunt them all. 

 

To say that A Quiet Place Part II is thrilling is the understatement of 2021. It’s white knuckle, watch with hands over your face, edge of your seat kind of stuff. Life and death are in every single action, even the slightest movement. And while we’ve seen this done before in the original, Krasinski artfully places objects and scenarios in their way that up the ante yet again. 

 

Emily Blunt is magnificent again, completely drawing you in with her star power whenever she is on the screen. Cillian Murphy is a superb addition and some of his scenes with Millicent Simmonds are heartbreakingly beautiful. But this film really belongs to Simmonds; she is outstanding as a kick ass, resourcefully smart and brave kid that uses her so-called disability to her advantage. The implications of the part she and her disability have in the film's ending is a beautiful touch too. 

 

As good as the first and filled with more edge of your seat thrills, A Quiet Place: Part II begs to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Blockbuster filmmaking at its very, very best. One of my hands down favorite films of 2021.