VOD: Escape Room 2 a.k.a. Escape Room Tournament Of Champions (dir: Adam Robitel, 2021)

"The game is all there is, and all there is is the game."

A snappy recap of the profitable 2019 film opens this money-grab sequel, as the survivor inadvertently finds herself pitted unwittingly against winning contestants from other games.  Following the Twister model, the only real parts of interest are the actual puzzle/action sequences as opposed to the unengaging dialogue scenes in between, yet here the clues and puzzles are dafter and seem less plausible.  Although the film is largely well made and performed competently, it does nothing to advance the concept, and playing like an odd mix of the Saw and Cube films with a Final Destination-styled ending, the only real positive here is guessing the order in which the thinly-drawn characters are despatched.  Note: this review refers to the Theatrical Cut and not the Extended Cut that features a different opening and ending.