‘Escape Room 2’ Brings Bigger Escape Rooms, But The Story Falls Flat [REVIEW]

Estimated read time: 4 minutes 

What do you do when you are lucky enough to survive a deadly escape room? You investigate the people behind it of course (said no one ever). That’s apparently what Ben and Zoey (Logan Miller and Taylor Russell) do in the sequel to the 2019 horror film “Escape Room.” In the second film for the franchise called “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions,” Ben and Zoey find themselves right back where they didn’t want to be while attempting to take down the masterminds behind the horrifying immersive escape rooms.

Since I’m obsessed with escape rooms the idea of the initial film immediately intrigued me. I enjoyed the first film so I knew I would go see the second when it came out and that’s what I did. Below is a review of “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” breaking down where the film excelled and fell short for me. Be warned SPOILERS AHEAD so if you don’t want to know specific details about “Escape Room 2” then don’t read any further.

Photo: Sony Pictures

“Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” opens by giving viewers a quick refresher of the events from “Escape Room” so if you didn’t watch the first film or forgot some key points the intro helps you out. I remembered some elements of “Escape Room,” but that recap was helpful to get you in the mood for what’s to come. Ben and Zoey (Miller and Russell) are trauma buddies being the only ones who know about Minos (the company behind the deadly escape rooms) and are determined to take them down. Well, Zoey really is, Ben is kind of forced into it because he owes his life to Zoey for saving him at the end of the first film. Zoey is still frightened to fly because of the horrific plane crash she was in that killed her mother and is in therapy to work out her issues with that and with her experience from the rooms.

The film starts off pretty slow because it gives us a first act showing what Ben and Zoey have been up to after the games and how much they are still very much traumatized. Eventually, they make it to New York to find Minos headquarters to get evidence of their heinous crimes. The two go to a warehouse, with no type of protection I must add, and basically get swindled into another game. They are lured into a subway train car and get locked in with the others players (Indya Moore, Holland Roden, Carlito Olivero, and Thomas Cocquerel) and the new game begins.

Off the bat, these characters aren’t as intriguing to me as the characters from the first one. It is discovered that all the people involved have played before and their games were catered specifically to the group like the “sole survivor” aspect of the first film. There apparently were games for influencers, priests, and people who can’t feel pain. I would have loved if those games were briefly shown or as the character was explaining their game it would have thrown to a flashback, but maybe that would make the movie longer and wouldn’t progress it along.

I will say the best part about this film, just like the first one, is the actual rooms. The ones in “Tournament of Champions” are bigger, more elaborate, and so much harder to figure out. I’m surprised the group got past the first room because figuring out what to do and escape seemed very difficult. The downside to this film is that it basically is the same as “Escape Room” just with new players. Nothing crazy different happened, but Deborah Ann Woll’s Amanda character showing back up informing the viewers that if you didn’t actually see someone die then assume it didn’t happen. (That for sure sets up a third film)

The ending didn’t come as a shock either because if you watched the trailer you knew what was coming with the plane scene. The games are nowhere near being over.

On the strength of my love for escape rooms and being genuinely excited to figure out how to escape I’m invested in this franchise. The best part is really when they are in the rooms trying to figure out the clues. Those scenes are always done well and the thrill meter is high. I’m not mad I went to see this in the theaters, but I could have waited for it to come on cable. Will I go see a third film if it gets made? Sure. I have to see how this thing will eventually come to an end.

If you enjoyed the first film then you will like this one too. I give “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” three pink kisses 💋💋💋.

Watch the trailer for “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” in the clip below. Have you checked out the film yet? What did you think about the sequel? Are you invested enough to want a third film? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo: Sony Pictures