Movie/TV Show Reviews:

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  As is well known, the sequel (as a rule) does not live up to the original. "Escape Room: The Best of the Best" could theoretically be added to the list of notable exceptions. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean it's a good movie. The explanation of this paradox is simple. The previous part set the bar so low that jumping over it was not a big problem. As promised in the title, the survivors of the first part, Zoey (Taylor Russell) and Ben (Logan Miller), are joined by people who have already won life once in a murderous game. The protagonist no longer has to play the thankless role of a guide explaining the plot twists. Unfortunately, the advantages end there. Adam Robitel, also responsible for the first part, apparently still does not believe in the intelligence of the audience. This time he spares us high-flown metaphors (which, despite the fact that they come from quantum physics, can be surprisingly easily reduced to the wisdom of Paulo Coelho's prose), but otherwise everything stays as it is. Like "Escape Room", "Best of the Best" is a mediocre attempt to marry several popular series: "Cube", "Saw" and "Final Destination". Perhaps the director was looking for inspiration in the wrong place - after all, it is difficult to draw something original from the exploited plots of these titles. On the other hand, who knows, if only he placed the accents differently, he wouldn't have gotten a decent bogeyman. It is known, however, that it is better to follow the path of least resistance. And Robitel does not even mask the lack of an idea for the plot, serving us a repeat of the entertainment. If you expected it to be at least stronger, scarier and bloodier, and new, experienced heroes will help bring the game to the next level ... Well, you're in for a disappointment. If they're the champions who made it out of the twisted escape rooms, I'm glad I didn't get to meet their competitors. Even worse, the director tries to thicken the maze by exploring the fears and anxieties that Zoey and Ben struggle with. He not only mixes reality with nightmares, but also tries to sow seeds of suspicion in the viewer, again and again suggesting that we do not know whether we are still in a safe reality or already in a deadly simulacrum. However, he does it so ineptly that he falls into the trap he set himself, and the result is something that resembles a reality show more than a horror movie. The biggest problem, however, is the scenario in which there are plenty of plot holes. Robitel tries to patch them up, but only multiplies absurdities like "they killed him and he escaped". Again, he leads the characters like a string, thanks to which it is enough to watch the exhibition to guess what will happen in the end. I can already see the next part in my mind's eye. If the creators decide to finally introduce us to the villains behind the Minos company, which organizes blood bets for the rich, they will certainly be Jigsaw's poor relatives - people using their power to hypocritically show their victims that you should enjoy life. Oh, such hardcore coaching. I'm surprised that with this level of performance and the accumulation of empty quotes from other works, "Escape Room: The Best of the Best" did not come from The Asylum stable, famous for such hits as "Transmorphers" (not to be confused with "Transformers") or the "Atlantic Rim" series (not to be confused with "Pacific Rim"). If someone locks you in a cinema hall where this movie will be played, you better run away as soon as possible.

  12/26/2022