Rest easy fans, A Quiet Place Part 2 rises to the occasion and meets the high standard of a sequel well done. The Abbot family is back, or rather what remains of them, in hopes of surviving a world overrun by aggressive alien monsters that navigate by sound. Meaning, if you make a sound, the monsters find you and kill you. The film begins as widowed Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), son Marcus (Noah Jupe), and a newborn member of the family shortly after the events of the first film. Director and co-writer John Krasinski maintains a seamless tone with the original thriller while following the entirely plausible aftermath of the 2018 hit. Part 2 benefits and suffers from the same qualities that accompanied the first film while never getting close to the moments of white-knuckle suspense its predecessor achieved.

In a gripping opening, we see the day the monsters literally landed from the sky during a little league game. Lee (John Krasinski), Evelyn, and Regan watch as Marcus Keeps striking out. Friendly neighbor Emmet (Cillian Murphy) is cheering his own son (Zachary Golinger) on. All hell breaks loose and we witness the alien invasion in real-time as town folk scatters. This is easily the film’s strongest sequence.

We then get back to the aftermath of the first film as Evelyn, Regan, Marcus, and the newborn are picking up the pieces after a devastating attack on their tranquil farm compound. The four of them gather what they can and plan to find support from a fellow survivor who is tending to a fire beacon in the distance. Finding shelter in the depths of a grain refinery, the Abbots discover Emmet (Cillian Murphy) who has survived on a meager, solitary existence. After Marcus Abbot discovers a radio broadcast, Regan believes it is a beacon for survivors to find safety. Regan believes that the weapon against the aliens that she discovered could be used over the same broadcast signal as a major defense. So, she sets off on her own to get to the radio tower while new friend Emmet sets out on a search and rescue for her and Evelyn defends Marcus and the newborn against repeated attacks.

After a long setup, we get our McGuffin. Regan aims to offer a new weapon to the masses via a mysterious radio tower on an island. To Krasinski‘s credit, he doesn’t cheat or take the easy way out by simply landing the survivors of the first film in an inexplicably safe spot. The throughline feels natural and totally believable. In fact, Krasinski along with co-writers Scott Beck, Bryan Woods have a sharp understanding of character and plot. Murphy‘s Emmet is a solid addition to the story and the motives, actions, and consequences for all involved make sense. Still, it is impossible to top the original with more of the same and that is what they try to do while getting awfully close.

Like I said at the beginning, A Quiet Place Part 2 shines and stumbles in the same ways that the first film did. There are great performances from Blunt, Murphy, and Simmonds. There are relentless moments of tension and tandem set-pieces that deliver a razor-toothed monster of a movie. Then there are the strange plot holes regarding mankind’s latent discovery of the alien’s weakness and yet another jarringly abrupt ending. I have faith that Krasinski and company could deftly address these qualms with just a bit more run time but somehow, nope!

In the end A Quiet Place Part 2 is a rollicking summer blockbuster, executed with skill and calculated with maximum return in mind, damn the ongoing plotholes.

7 out of 10