A Quiet Place 2 review: Should you watch it or skip it?

A Quiet Place 2 is here and it was just three years ago that we were first introduced to this world. It was an interesting concept. A post-invasion world where humans are reduced to silence because the slightest noise would mean inviting a murder machine to rip you apart.

The first movie simply thrust us into this world without much setup. We learn who our main characters are, a family of five, then four, then five again surviving in this silent world while trying to find other survivors and find the creatures’ weakness.

The first film was simple, yet entertaining, and the ways that they used silence and sound, provided for an intense cinematic experience. It was fresh and John Krasinski (The Office) gained a ton of respect as a serious director. Newcomer Millicent Simmonds (Andi Mack) was a standout in the film and Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow) was, well, Emily Blunt.

The sequel to A Quiet Place promised to expand the world, introduce new characters, and perhaps shed some light on what life was like just before the invasion. The fear with a sequel for a film like A Quiet Place is that they either lean too heavily on repeating the things that worked in the first film or go too far with trying to outdo it.

So does A Quiet Place 2 do either of those things?

In short, no it does not. The premise doesn’t change, the monsters still appear almost instantly as soon as you make a sound, they still rip people to shreds, and the humans still have to be quiet. The world expansion was not overdone at all. In fact, if I was being picky I might say it was underdone.

We do learn more about how the invasion started and we do see how some other people are managing to survive and that was huge. However, I still come out of the film with some lingering questions.

A Quiet Place 2 is entertaining but still leaves many questions unanswered.

As far as pure entertainment, A Quiet Place 2 definitely provides that. It wastes absolutely no time ratcheting up the tension. The first scenes take place just before the invasion, but you can still feel the tension in the air and you just know that things are not going to stay harmonious for long. Then, when things do go bad it goes bad quickly. It was fun to spend some more time with Krasinski’s Lee Abbott, and they didn’t linger on this flashback for longer than was necessary.

From there, we transition back to the present and the film picks up almost exactly where the first film leaves off. Evelyn (Blunt) and the kids leave the house looking for a new place and, perhaps, people. They don’t waste any time here either as they find Cillian Murphy’s (Inception) character Emmett fairly quickly as well.

I won’t go too far beyond that with details since the trailer does a great job of not doing so, but they do give a great reason for his character not just taking out Evelyn and the kids when they brought danger to his doorstep.

After this connection is made, the film really begins and we learn things that were fortunately not given away in the trailer. You can watch the trailer below:

I loved that the second film, with no Krasinski, allowed all of the other actors to shine and both Millicent’s character, Regan, and her brother Marcus (Noah Jupe, Honey Boy) stepped up big in this movie. New problems arose for the family and they navigated them well without their father around to carry the weight this time.

Both kids come into their own and step up to try to keep the family alive. Not always in the smartest way and some things do go very badly for them but the intent was in the right place.

I mentioned earlier that I felt that the film might not have done quite enough and I am willing to speak on that here. If you feel that knowing what the movie didn’t do might be too much information, you should skip the next paragraph.

*Light spoilers*

I had a few problems with A Quiet Place 2. None of them make the movie less entertaining, but as a person who enjoys a good story, this one is missing some things.

First, I still don’t understand these creatures. They are seemingly killing people just to kill them and aren’t feeding on them or anything. They still don’t appear to have any sort of organization and are just lurking and murdering. I could rationalize this by saying perhaps they are the first wave that was sent out to simply eradicate the planet of the human problem before the real invaders come in, but through two movies there is no hint of a larger invading force.

Secondly, the movie ends in a way that makes it very clear there will be more to come. I am fine with another movie, but at the pace that the story is moving it might take five films to tell it properly. I love that we don’t get a perfect flowery, harmonious ending, but I would like to have some idea of what a resolution might look like. There appears to be one pretty solid resolution for the family, but it is unclear if a sequel might try to solve the global problem. Through two films I can’t see it going there.

Overall, A Quiet Place 2 is good entertainment and an excuse to get back out into the world and enjoy things again. If you liked the first movie and you get a chance, definitely check this film out.

A Quiet Place 2 is currently in theaters.