A Quiet Place II review: Smart, tension-packed sequel enjoys the silence – CNET [CNET]

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Millicent Simmonds is a strong lead as the daughter determined to turn her deafness into an advantage. Her resolve to go above and beyond drives the story, testing the parental caution of her loved ones. Meanwhile, Noah Jupe gets the short end of the stick in terms of doing stuff that seems kinda ill-advised, but the actor sells the experience of being a scared kid in a scary world.

In a particularly shrewd piece of casting, Cillian Murphy replaces John Krasinski as a new father figure. Maybe it’s the amount of Peaky Blinders I binged during lockdown, but Murphy brings a huge amount of tension just by showing up. He’s literally introduced as a doting dad at a little league game and still manages to induce a cold sweat of unease. The star of 28 Days Later, Inception and Dunkirk brings such an ambiguity and potential volatility to any role, he’s the exact opposite of Krasinski’s fatherly reliability.