John Krasinski is at it again, wonderfully weaving suspense and themes of family, loss, and communication throughout his follow-up to the hugely successful original. The opening plays as a brief prequel, beginning on day 1 and the monster's arrival on earth. From there, we're immediately thrown back to the end of Part I and pick the Abbott's up from there. Having their home destroyed with the events in the first film, the Abbott family is now on the move, seeking shelter and resources. They come upon Cillian Murphy's Emmett and his hideout in a local steel mill (Cillian having being introduced to us during said prequel). The film then splits off into 2, and then at times, 3 separate storylines before coming together at the end. Again, Krasinski leaves the film on such a high note that the audience is wanting more and this is easily left open for a third installment that I'm sure will come to fruition once the numbers from this weekend roll in. If you enjoyed the events of the original, you're going to enjoy this sequel just as much as this is truly a sequel, and not just a bridge to a third, trilogy ending film. For my money, I still prefer the original slightly more, but this is definitely a film enjoyed in theaters. 7.5/10
