It’s been three years since the lovely real-life pair John Krasinski and Emily Blunt stunned us with their rendition of an extraterrestrial invasion. Since then, the globe has learned that growling carnivores with tentacles and teeth aren’t required to put the planet to a standstill. How does the sequel, which may be too tempting to pass up given Krasinski’s success with the picture he co-wrote and directed, compare to both what could be and what is?
Unfortunately, it’s more of the same, with less tight suspense, a less concentrated plot, and a dulled Blunt.
The focus on the Abbott family, who appear to be the only survivors of aliens on a homicidal rampage for no apparent reason, was one of the early parts’ highlights. The tight-knit gang of five had escaped death because they discovered out early on what caught the aliens’ attention: sound, and how to avoid it. We first saw them on Day 472 of the invasion, going barefoot through a store, leaping when the youngest nearly lost a toy truck and then taking a long trip home in a single file, one careful step at a time, not realizing that the child had harmed them.
The dread that hung over that single scene pervaded the entire first act, as the family fought off attack after attack, devised new ways to stay safe, the children were repeatedly thrust into danger, and Mamma Evelyn (Blunt) fought valiantly to keep her brood safe, including the one she was about to give birth to.
The baby has been born, Papa Lee (Krasinski) has been slain, their house has been destroyed, and Evelyn must seek another sanctuary in the second chapter.
A Quiet Place Part 2 destroys the bond we had formed with the Abbotts after she and the children, Regan (Simmonds), Marcus (Jupe), and the infant (kept in a sound-proofed cradle with a breathing tube connected) had left the house. That’s the last time it discovers it.
Regan is hard of hearing, which is a useful trait in the new world because the Abbotts all know sign language. Simmonds, who has the handicap in real life, is a wonderful performer who, once again, wears the burden of leadership that naturally rests on her shoulders. It’s unfortunate that Krasinski, the writer and director, felt compelled to cast the older, wiser Murphy as Emmett, a family friend, as the man around the house.
Other than Murphy’s tremendous acting talents, eyes that flame almost as brightly as Blunt’s, and a history that pits misery against optimism, it’s unclear what else Emmett offers to the table. Also, it does it in a way that is less than believable, undermining A Quiet Place’s true achievement, which is providing us with a heroine like Regan who is a worthy successor to Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games.
Murphy’s presence also pushes Blunt’s own problems to the background. While Krasinski does a good job of switching between the various parallel strands, and the picture is striking in moments, it eventually feels like an apparent artifice to move forward a tale that has already been told.
Krasinski, on the other hand, starts out with a lot more promise, eventually showing us what Day 1 might have been like. A town that appears to be vacant until it isn’t, as everyone is assembled for a baseball game, complete with dogs, infants, food, and the great American passion. A streak of light flashes across the sky, followed by a feeling of discomfort, and then complete fear.
But the film isn’t concerned in Day 1 to Day 472 in the least. As we return to Day 472, it must determine how many different methods there are to express both the threat of sound and the measures to avoid it.
There is a ray of hope, but it is far too late and fleeting. But perhaps that single passing shot of Emmett going around a corner and stumbling onto a world that could have been his deceased wife and children’s as well is worth it. In those tiny seconds, Murphy captures a lifetime of sorrow and realisation.
