Review and movie summary of The Platform 2 (2024)

There has probably been no bigger hit of the pandemic than the Spanish-language dystopian thriller “The Platform.” In this film, the detainees locked in hundreds of levels of individual concrete cells waiting for a floating giant piece of food felt not too dissimilar from the cramped existence many experienced during the time of the virus. It was a surprising cathartic gift during these lean months. It would be a mistake to go back to this perfect idea. From the first half hour of director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s The Platform 2, it becomes clear that this return is actually a serious mistake.

The mechanisms of this world are the same. The arriving prisoners, all of whom are there for different reasons, are given a choice of what to eat each day and are given a personal item intended to comfort or protect them. Every month they move from one level to the next. The higher values ​​are better and provide more nutrition. The lower reaches promise famine. There are some additional wrinkles. When Perempuan (Milena Smit) wakes up, she finds the massive Zamiatan (Hovik Keuchkerian) also in her cell. You are on level 24. She is eating croquettes and he is eating pizza. The experienced inmates above and below have tried to install what they believe is a fair system: you can only eat the food of your choice; You must not eat the food of the dead; The only way to eat another item is to trade with someone else. However, this system turns out to be extremely flawed.

Likewise, these new action tools are not enough to breathe much life into the concept. Rather, this sequel not only feels like more of the same, but also dilutes the sharpness of the previous film. The entire film is way too confusing. It’s taking too long to figure out why Perempuan is here. The system’s enforcers, known as the Loyalists and led by a blind and malevolent Anointed One named Dagin Babi (Ken Appledorn), are an equally shadowy group. Aside from their desire to maintain law and order, it is unclear what their motivation is for violently maintaining this system. There is, of course, the religious component—messiahs, demonic figures, and allusions to various circles of hell—but they function more as broad symbols than concise world-building.

Due to the inconsistency of the story, one cannot tell what the film is about. Is it about how even just systems can lead to ice-cold actions? Or could it be a criticism of the COVID lockdowns, claiming that Puritan isolation violates people’s rights?

In any case, “The Platform 2” suffers from just being more of the same. He soon draws on a character from the first film, rehashing the already developed foreshadowing and metaphors from the first film, and even tries to neatly tie the two works together through an awkward post-credit scene. None of this is enough to conjure the same magic. Instead, this film needed to expand on its main character more – Perempuan is nothing more than a lengthy cipher – and vary its imagery. While the first film did an excellent job of using the limited space for natural rivalries and psychological anxieties, this film relies excessively on close-ups and feels monotonous against a mud-colored setting.

Neither the cheesy ending nor the mere existence of this second part are deserved. Instead, it withers away like the last drops of a once-bright idea are being squeezed out. It probably would have been better if The Platform 2 had just remained under wraps.

Now on Netflix.