A Quiet Place Part II Is 'Bigger, Faster, Louder': It 'Demands' to Be Seen 'on the Big Screen'
Jonny Cournoyer
A Quiet Place Part II is finally almost here.
Directed by John Krasinski and starring Emily Blunt, the film is the sequel to the box office smash A Quiet Place (2018), which sees the surviving Abbott family venture away from their farmhouse into the outside world in search of fellow survivors.
While the film was delayed from its original intended release of March 2020, ushering in a new era of streaming debuts and hybrid theatrical/streaming premieres, the sequel is sticking to a movie theaters-only policy for its first 45 days before becoming available on Paramount+.
Lindsey Bahr, a critic for the Associated Press, writes, "It might sound cliché, but it's hard to imagine seeing it anywhere but on the big screen. It's the kind of movie that demands it."
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The sequel is "bigger, faster, louder, and more typical for the horror blockbuster genre," writes Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com. "Even if this sequel remains firmly in the shadows of the original, I wanted part three as soon as it was over."
The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney writes, "The intimacy of the storytelling tugs relentlessly at our anxieties for the duration," while The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw commends the film, writing, "What a pleasure to see a big, brash picture like this on the big screen."
Some critics felt the film didn't live up to its predecessor, but admired the technical aspects of the film, predominately the sound.
"The sci-fi survival horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II doesn't quite live up to the refreshing feel or innovative novelty of the original 2018 hit... but the creatures are still freaky, the soundscapes are still interesting," USA Today's Brian Truitt writes.
Empire Magazine critic Ian Freer adds his own perspective, writing, "Whisper it. A Quiet Place Part II might lack the smarts and novelty of its predecessor but it serves up strong set- pieces, Millicent Simmonds shines and Krasinski remains a director to watch."
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The movie picks up where the first movie left off, with Blunt's Evelyn shepherding her three kids—one of whom is a newborn— into the world as they attempt to find safety and a community of survivors.
Krasinski also returns as Lee for flashback scenes as his character died at the end of the first part. Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds also star as the older Abbott kids Marcus and Regan, while Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou are new additions to the cast.
A Quiet Place Part II opens in theaters on May 28.
