A Quiet Place Part II [Blu-Ray]

Director: John Krasinski

Cast: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds

Release Date: July 27, 2021

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

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 in this “gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller” (Scott Mantz, BFCA) written and directed by John Krasinski.

Please Note: Paramount Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

‘A Quiet Place Part II’ picks up immediately following the events of the first film (you can also read my review of the first film’s Blu-ray release HERE) as the remaining members of the Abbot family are forced to leave home behind now that they’ve been exposed and need some assistance. As they head away, they arrive at the hiding spot of an old acquaintance who warns them that the majority of people that are left aren’t worth saving. Refusing to give up and unable to not try and help the world now that they’ve uncovered the creatures’ vulnerability, young Regan heads out alone in order to track down a radio broadcast that could be the key to the world starting to fight back.

Written and directed by John Krasinski (A Quiet Place) who once again does a fantastic job at the helm of ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ guiding along his own screenplay with a perfect balance of heart, tension and excitement. The film also benefits from a great cast comprised of both returning individuals and newcomers to the series including Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns), Cillian Murphy (Inception), Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place), Noah Jupe (Ford v Ferrari), Djimon Hounsou (Furious 7) and John Krasinski (TV’s Jack Ryan) along with a few more and nearly all providing great, if not at least quite solid performances in each of their respective roles; once more helping this incredibly human tale to work as smoothly as it does.

‘A Quiet Place Part II’ is a wonderful example of a sequel done right. It expands significantly on the world introduced in its predecessor and opens up the scope of the focus while increasing the action and tension, yet never at the cost of its heart which was one of the first film’s greatest strengths. It’s another tense, thrilling and beautifully crafted entry that actually bothers to do something new, while still staying true to everything about the original that made it so memorable. After opening with a wild prologue that shows how the invasion began, it picks up exactly where the first movie concluded as we accompany the family outside of the limited region that the original took place which cleverly allows us to slowly see more of the world as it is now through the eyes of this family who are equally unfamiliar with the current state of the world they occupy. It may not quite reach the level of perfection that its predecessor did, but it does come remarkably close and is one of the better sequels in recent memory. I can’t urge fans of the first film strongly enough to go out of your way to check out ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ at your earliest convenience if you haven’t yet the pleasure. It’s a magnificent sequel that largely exceeds expectations (which were naturally quite high after the phenomenal first film) and is definitely not to be missed.

Overall, ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ is a spectacular sequel that stays true to the heart and soul of the original while expanding upon the world that was introduced and at the same time increasing the action and scale; all while keeping our experience and look at bigger aspects of this crumbled world aligned with the experiences and perspective of the key family. ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ easily earns one of my highest possible recommendations, although you will want to be certain you’ve seen the first film before jumping into this one. It’s an altogether wonderful sequel that ups the ante when it comes to the action and tension while never forgoing the heart and emotion that made the original work so beautifully. Fans of the first film definitely won’t want to miss out on this solid sequel and at the absolute least it should be well worth the price of a rental and ninety minutes of your time.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 2.39:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks quite nice as a whole and serves up a smooth, clean and nicely detailed presentation from start to finish that may not be the most impressive presentation in recent memory but never suffers from any unexpected troubles along the way. It holds up remarkably well even during the various darkly lit and/or fast moving sequences, always keeping everything occurring onscreen looking generally sharp and clean throughout. Overall, this is a great high definition video presentation from Paramount that should please both first time viewers and fans of the sequel.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack contributes splendidly to the viewing experience, increasing the tension and excitement every step of the way and providing an aggressive and pretty much flawless audio presentation throughout. It takes advantage of all seven available channels at every possible opportunity to send creatures screeching and snarling, gunshots booming, and water dripping along with a whole lot more zipping throughout the various speakers quite frequently and never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously becoming distorted or rendered inaudible in the process. Overall, this is a magnificent Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that sounds outstanding from start to finish and never disappoints in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ features a few nice extras in the way of some Behind the Scenes Featurettes that include interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus some behind the scenes footage and more. The release includes ‘Director’s Diary: Filming with John Krasinski’ (running approximately 9 minutes in length), ‘Pulling Back the Curtain’ (running approximately 4 minutes), ‘Regan’s Journey’ (approximately 6 minutes), ‘Surviving the Marina’ (5 minutes) and ‘Detectable Disturbance: Visual Effects and Sound Design’ (8 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘A Quiet Place Part II’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Paramount Home Entertainment

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