When New York City comes under attack from an alien invasion, a woman and other survivors try to find a way to safety. They soon learn that they must remain absolutely silent as the mysterious creatures are drawn to the slightest sound. I for one loved the first two A Quiet Place films and thought they actually did an incredible job at making the most of a simple premise. Humans reacting and ultimately adjusting to an apocalypse where aliens that can’t see but have super hearing abilities have invaded the planet. A brilliant idea and terrific execution in those first two films. Unlike the first two movies in the series, John Krasinski does not return as director, but as producer and co-writer. Also unlike the previous entries, this movie focuses on a different location in New York City, brand new characters, and is set before the events of Part One and Part Two. Is this a worthy prequel that stands on its own and explains how it all started in a satisfying manner? In some ways yes, and others, not at all. What kept this movie at least somewhat engaging are the same things that worked for the first two films and that’s just about everything related to the technical aspects. On a 67 million dollar budget, I was really able to feel the scale of New York City being invaded, almost as if it was on a 100 million dollar budget. Cinematographer Pat Scola and director Michael Sarnoski do an incredible job making the initial invasion feel like an event out of a disaster flick, with imagery paralleling 9/11. The alien creatures themselves look extremely photorealistic and utterly terrifying. The closeup shots of their faces, enlarged eardrums, and mouths were quite petrifying. Sound design is superb and the suspenseful moments where it goes quiet and characters are either hiding from the aliens or trying to move around without making any noise were effectively tense. With that being said, A Quiet Place: Day One was a fairly frustrating experience for me and if I’m being honest, a massive disappointment. One of the most glaring flaws of this film is that when the alien invasion begins, somehow Lupita Nyong’o‘s character Sam all of a sudden knows to be quiet. It’s not just her, but nearly every single civilian in her vicinity after the first day of the invasion knows to be quiet almost immediately and that these are blind alien creatures with super hearing and are attracted to sound. Took me right out of the movie within the first 20 minutes. Not to mention, once the initial blast of military bombs strike the area of the nursing home bus she’s on, Sam doesn’t even check to see if everyone else on the bus is okay and instantly I felt unattached to this new main character.
Eventually, Sam crosses paths with Eric, an English law student played by Joseph Quinn who turns in a solid performance. In spite of Quinn and Nyong’o‘s best efforts, and they are both respectively very good in the film, I just did not find myself invested in them the way I was with Lee/Evelyn Abbott and their family. Another big leap in the logic department was Sam’s cat, Frodo. For some reason, this cat is totally invincible and has the most indestructible plot armor during certain end of the world situations. I believe your enjoyment of this movie may hinge solely upon how much you’re willing to suspend your disbelief with this cat surviving from these aliens and in a couple instances being submerged under water for an extended period of time. It’s not usual for me to be bothered by stuff like this, but in this movie particularly, all of those little things added up to making several moments lose credibility. Djimon Hounsou is barely in the movie and the trailer was misleading into getting us to believe his character would go on the adventure with Sam and Eric. Being that I wasn’t invested in either of them, I definitely felt the downtime and slow moments when nothing significant was happening. There are also some very questionable and preposterous decisions made by Sam in which I just did not buy, like her desire to get pizza out of nostalgia instead of getting the hell out of Manhattan. I didn’t like the ending at all either and I think many viewers will be questioning its plausibility, In terms of world building and expanding on the different abilities of these aliens, there are some cool additions that added context to what they can or cannot do, but it definitely left me wanting more especially since this is a prequel. I know it sounds like I’m completely ripping this movie apart but it’s not a bad film at all and I was relatively entertained throughout most of it. I simply felt a lack of full engagement with the characters, their decision making, and the astronomical leaps in logic that instantaneously took me out of the experience. I guess I am getting older and more weary of these clichés to the point of my overall enjoyment being compromised. If you’re a fan of the first two films in the franchise, I would suggest watching this prequel, but you don’t need to rush out to the theater for it. Wait for streaming. Overall, aside from a few tension filled sequences, immersive cinematography, and solid performances by Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, A Quiet Place: Day One suffers from far too many leaps in believability and characters I never once felt fully invested in.
Comments