The Mosley Review: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

Please allow me to repeat myself for a second. Why did it take this long for anyone to make one of the best live action gaming experiences into a film franchise?! I thought the first film was inventive, compelling and so much fun. As fate would have it, we get a sequel that continues that same amount of fun the original had. There were some weaker moments in the film plot wise and the characters weren't as strong, but I did still enjoy it. The film ventures into a less violent version of the Saw franchise which was a cool twist. There's a heavily missed opportunity to further the lore of Minos, the company behind these elaborate escape rooms. There is info about how far Minos reaches, but its such a small amount that you really don't know anything new by the end. Don't get me wrong, you want to see how more elaborate and deadly the escape rooms get, but this new group didn't get enough time to be fleshed. I did love that the characters were all champions from past escape rooms, but I wanted to learn more about Minos.

Taylor Russell returns as Zoey and she was just as curious and even more headstrong this time. I loved that her trauma never went away from her past experience and this time you get a glimpse at how her deductive skills have improved. Logan Miller also returns as Ben and he was just as great and fun to watch. Ben deals with his trauma in a more nightmarish way, but I did love how he never left Zoe's side. The two of them have become the best leaders of the franchise and their chemistry is so good. Indya Moore was good as Brianna and to see her struggle with finding clues was fun. Holland Roden was cool as Rachel and I thought she had a great twist to her character that was used only once, but never fully explored. There could've been a moment for some fun body horror, but I guess not. Thomas Cocquerel as Nathan was a fun character that could've been also explored more. I did like seeing his faith restored in a great scene.

The score by Brian Tyler and John Carey was a fun mix between orchestral and electronica that kept the energy alive. The escape rooms were great and gorgeous, but lacked the same kind of practicality. There are 2 rooms that stuck out as highlights, but one in particular that really tested the limits of believability the first film introduced. This was another fun and thrilling experience that doesn’t over stay its welcome, but maybe 10 more minutes could’ve been added for lore purposes. There are new reveals and surprises that I won't spoil, but the ending is a little lackluster since it is so abrupt. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!