Did We Really Need It? —— A Quiet Place Part II movie Review

I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy this movie. However, there were times where I thought, was this worth making? The first movie was phenomenal and well worth the admission ticket. However, at the end of this movie, I walked out thinking “okay.” It’s not a bad movie at all, it’s just kind of here to continue the story for the first movie a bit. I do, however, recommend watching it on your own to get your take on it, because it seems like a movie that people will enjoy or they won’t. Maybe a third movie will be released to help improve this one, but since the writers seemed reluctant to make this one, we will just have to see.

The Creatures

A Quiet Place Part II finally gives us a longer and closer look at the aliens. While they are terrifying and creepy to look at, it’s hard to believe they are just mindless creatures. I understand that we only know what the characters in the movie know, but the aliens just seem to senselessly kill for no apparent reason. It’s not like they eat the people they kill, they just landed on the planet and started going on a rampage. There is no one controlling the aliens to conquer the planet, they are just angry creatures hellbent on killing.

Not Much Progression

This movie does not do anything as far as story progression and world building goes. There is an extra scene, in the beginning, to establish that the creatures are from space and set up a character we will see later in the film. We also got to see a bit more of John Krazinski, so that was nice I guess. However, as far as the story goes, nothing changes. The family just leaves the farm and the kids are just as irritating in this film as they were in the first. That’s just my opinion at least. The daughter was able to grow, emotionally speaking, a bit but that’s about it. The movie does try to create a world-building element by establishing that there are bad people out there and there might be a safe space. But we don’t see much of the bad people in the movie and if horror movies have taught me anything, it’s that safe spaces don’t last very long once you find them.

The Action

In the beginning, the action starts pretty much right away, but it also dies down just as quickly. Most horror movies leave you in fear of what’s about to happen until something eventually does happen. However, this movie focuses more on the surviving element, living in a post-apocalyptic world, and it kind of makes you lose touch with what’s supposed to be a constant danger. The meteor that crashes to earth doesn’t even make a sound or cause an earthquake. We just see it falling and suddenly aliens are attacking. While I do prefer emotionally, story-driven movies, this one just seems boring.

The Family

The first movie is all about being a family and the lengths a parent will go to to protect their family. One could argue that this film is about moving forward and growing up. Millicent Simmonds gives a more phenomenal performance than her previous role in the first film. Her character truly steps up and works to make an effort to better the lives of their family. While the first film ends in a sacrifice and parents protecting their kids, this movie comes full circle for the kids who have grown and matured to protect the family as well. The son in the film, however, doesn’t change much. He gets injured and then sidelined for the rest of the film. He does protect his newborn sibling, which was his way to mature, but I just couldn’t stop looking at him as a whining brat until the end when he finally kills an alien. The ending for the children does give you a sense of pride and happiness and I hope a third movie is released to watch more of them grow.