Film Review – Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

2019’s “Escape Room” wasn’t meant to be much, but the low-budget film grabbed a first weekend release date in January, which has become a prime spot for genre pictures. The post-holiday crowds responded to the multiplex palate cleanser, enjoying the ride director Adam Robitel prepared for the mass audience. A borderline sci-fi take on “Saw” with escape room elements, the feature managed to make money, and that’s a good thing for the production, which didn’t offer an ending, only a set-up for a sequel. Two years later, and there’s “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions,” which hopes to sustain the brand name for another round of near misses involving a cast of characters hunting for a way out of incredibly elaborate and expensive traps. With a continuation, there’s no need for introductions, and speed works well for “Tournament of Champions,” which gets surprisingly far when concentrating on panic. Unfortunately, Robitel and his writers (four credited for this screenplay) can’t leave bad franchise habits behind, ignoring any sense of closure to keep the money train going for a third installment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com