Escape Room: Tournament of Champions Review: A disturbingly captivating tale of survivors of previous games

The thriller, directed by Adam Robitel, has actors Taylor Russell and Logan Miller reprise their roles as Zoey and Ben respectively. It also has some new cast members Indya Moore, Holland Roden, Thomas Cocquerel, and Carlito Olivero, forming a group of six who are trapped in a new series of more deadly escape rooms.

A still from the film Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

Story:

The story picks from exactly where it ended in the 2019 movie, Escape Room. Zoey convinces Ben to join her at the location of a secluded building so that she can collect evidence against Minos, the mastermind behind the dangerous Escape Room games and help put an end to all the cruel games that killed their friends. But their revenge takes an ugly turn when they realise they have entered the puzzle again with four survivors or champions of previous games. Hence, the title Tournament of Champions. Who will survive the new series of life-threatening puzzles is what the story is about.

Review:

The Escape Room: Tournament of Champions is a follow-up story of the 2019 film Escape Room. It opens with a quick recap of what happened in the first movie, so if one hasn't watched the first instalment, they can still follow the story. The story of the second instalment of the Escape Room film franchise is similar to the first film. The core of the story remains the same with a group of six now trying to survive the deadly game.

The film, which dropped on Netflix on February 17, after a theatrical run last year, is about the escape room where the champions or survivors of the previous games of Minos' contest. All get trapped in a passenger train and their coach gets uncoupled from the rest of the train. Zoey and Ben, who go back to the game only to find evidence against the gamers and bring them to justice for killing their friends and others, get trapped again with four other champions. What follows next is a series of timed quests that the group needs to solve to exit the game. Right in the beginning, they realise that only one will be able to survive the game. As the story progresses, one character after another dies, some of which we assume have died. The death scene of Brianna and Rachel is the worst. They give up and decide to end their lives as they expose themselves to the acid rain. Their bodies melting in acid is not for the faint-hearted to watch.

Fortunately, it doesn't have any other gross scenes. The film cleverly uses a line that it hasn't happened if you have not seen it happening. The dialogue comes towards the end when a contestant, whom we all believed have died, makes an appearance. Zoey realises that it is this person who has designed the puzzle and put them all in danger again.

By the end of the film, you realise the story of the entire film franchise revolves around Zoey as she has managed to survive the deadly game twice. It might make you sympathise with her as you realise she is stuck in a loop, unable to get back to the real world, which can be slightly disturbing and traumatising. She believes it is all over and decides to overcome her fear of flying by getting on a plane to fly back to Chicago with Ben. But it's not until too late when she realises that the game isn't over yet.

The performances of the actors are impeccable. The story is well-written with a fast-paced narrative, though a few portions or ideas explored in the film might seem a little over the top. It keeps you hooked to the screen throughout its runtime. The way the film has made its lead character a woman and how everybody else is very much dependent on her is applaudable. Though all-new characters initially had their doubts about Zoey, they finally realise that she is beauty with brains, especially when they see Ben vouching for her even when he knows she is not confident about her choices and sometimes, assumptions. The friendship between Zoey and Ben, purely platonic so far, is also well-thought. Unlike in many other films, including horror, the writers haven't introduced any love angle to their relationship, which is refreshing to watch.

The film ends with a cliffhanger and a voice-over saying the game will only end when the makers want it to. The open ending does pique your interest and makes you a little curious to know what happens next.

Verdict:

The film makes for a good one-time watch as it keeps you hooked to the screen with its fast pace narrative and never-guessing game.

The film is now available to stream on Netflix.

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Cast and Crew

Carlito Olivero

Theo

Indya Moore

Brianna Collier

Adam Robitel

Tanya van Graan

Sonya

Holland Roden

Rachel Ellis

Isabelle Fuhrman

Claire

Taylor Russell

Zoey Davis

Deborah Ann Woll

Amanda Harper

Jamie-Lee Money

Airport Attendant

Lucy Newman-Williams

Therapist

Jay Ellis

Flashback - Jason Walker

Nik Dodani

Flashback - Danny Khan

Jaymes Butler

Police Detective

Renee Harbek

Priscilla

Derek Siow

Paramedic Jarrod

Logan Miller

Ben Miller

Thomas Cocquerel

Nathan

Matt Esof

Junkie

Wayne Harrison

News Reader

Tyler Labine

Flashback - Mike Nolan

Yorick van Wageningen

Flashback - Games Master WooTan Yu

James Frain

Henry

Jay Erving

Evan Hengst

Technician

Corin Silva

Ensler

Where To Watch