ESCAPE ROOM: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS RANT 

My favorite line is when the feels-no-pain girl says “So this is like a Tournament of Champions”. Out loud. On purpose.

“It’s ok, I can’t feel [the acid]!” Cool but your hand’s still melting

For a couple of "champions", they died pretty easily. Weren't they suppose to be good at surviving escape rooms?

What they should’ve did was have “Tournament of Champions” be the final film in the installment and the films before it could’ve been the escape rooms that the “champions” survived (the priest room, the painless room, the influencer room, the whatever the first guy’s room was)... then they could’ve been like the Final Destination of this generation. Ball was epically dropped for sure

The title frustrated me because there had only been one predecessor (movie), how is it already time for a “tournament of champions” when we only saw two?

13:12 the "extended" version does explain this. SPOILER: Zoey was the first one to actually escape, so after that, they started letting people win, specifically so they could bring them back for the "tournament of champions."

The twist makes me question every single “death” including ones from the first movie. I feel like this movie was a filler movie preparing for a better third movie.

I think the twist was tied to the first one the whole "if you didn't see it, it didn't happen" because when zoey broke all the cameras the game masters couldn't see in the room. When the hazmat people went in they assumed she was dead and she wasn't, she outsmarted them. So i think minos really are trying to recruit Zoey since she was the only one smart enough to survive and save somebody else.

also the whole reason they don’t show any of the new characters old games or how they escaped was because they weren’t real. the whole movie was a “fake” game to lul the main girl into thinking she’s safe to fly

Amanda’s death was SUCH an emotional point and I loved how they did the relationship with Zoey and Amanda in the first movie but i wish they didn’t have amanda not die. It was so kinda frustrating. I like when they take characters we have emotional ties to and kill them off because it makes it so effective

It reminds me more of the “Cube” franchise than Final Destination 🤔

Honestly, I would so watch a movie where Priests have to battle it out to survive. I'd pay double to see a movie where Influencers die one by one. They could hire come actual Influencers and have the movie premise be that they think they're doing a reality tv series. They could completely justify the survivors as having that as the final escape room.

I'm still holding onto the idea that the new characters were all involved in minos bc we never specifically saw any of them die except the guy in the subway and it was proclaimed to us multiple times that if we didn't see it it never happened or something along those lines, that would explain them brushing over their backstory and us seeing no flashbacks of them, I think the whole point of this "tournament of champions" was literally only to recruit Zoey to minos and now that she didn't comply they are using the plane room to kill her. Idk at this point I still like the movie a little

In terms of the rooms, Amanda “ made these rooms “. She made this game, that’s why the twist is at the end. And that’s why she was there to talk to Zoey, and tell her they want her to create their next game. They saw that Zoey and Amanda got super close in such a short time. They used her to get to Zoey. So, I don’t discredit the rooms only because of that reason.

I never once seen a trailer for this film and still haven't. Not online or TV or even a poster anywhere. I knew it was being made, but didn't know it existed yet till now!

I prefer "feisty" Sarah who doesn't feel the need to do a long pre-apology/disclaimer for her opinions! And agreed - I enjoy Final Destination for the wacky setups and the specific plot and characterization is mainly peripheral, and can see this being a franchise similar to that. Like a pulpy murder mystery is about the puzzles/mystery and the characters are essentially fodder for the mechanics. Bonus if characters and plot are good, otherwise just give us the goods! And yes - Bad ADR is annoying, especially when they re-write the lines in an attempt to change or clarify the plot in the edit.

I think I remember there being a line said somewhere along the lines of Zoey and Ben were the first "real" winners. After that they started letting people win to create the champion tournament

the Extended cut is pretty awesome you see the room designer and his imprisoned daughter who is the real mastermind and how that goes into a whole side story that was interesting

The energy in this video is IMMACULATE. Personally when I look for reviews on movies/tv shows/books, I’m looking for a passionate response and nitpicking because that’s how I react to really good/bad content. 👏🏻

When I seen the trailer I thought it was fan made, I too was a huge fan of the first and ….. here we are 😞🧐

THIS IS BASICALLY THE HUNGER GAMES CATCHING FIRE Edit: Meaning that it was the same premise except The Hunger Games is the best book to movie franchise ever. And the Catching Fire movie is good example of a sequel being better than the original. Unlike this terrible film that wasn’t good unlike the original Escape Room.

I loved the first one, but I also love a rant so at least there’s a positive here

Great video! I feel the same. They could have done so much more with the plot. I feel that they weren’t really champions and they’re all (besides Zoe and Ben) are working with Minos…which is why they couldn’t explain why they walked untouched after being the winners…

Tournament of Champions felt like a title reserved for the final movie of a franchise , so i was iffy about it since the beginning. It just felt like a cash grab sequel instead of an actual one.

Have you seen the extended alternate ending version yet? Please review if so, thanks!

Ok I feel like the therapist scene gave so much away so quickly. The therapist was wearing jewelry that looked like the minos logo and just felt too much like the director saying; you know what let’s really throw em off our tracks! I dunno I just feel like we could’ve picked up with them at the first airport then zoey chickening out and them deciding to drive.

No care was put into this one. It screams “Desperate to be a Franchise”

I thought the recap was unnecessary and odd, but I personally don’t think the director was trying to dumb anything down for the viewers. Also, this movie wasn’t perfect or even close to it, but I actually enjoyed it and the plot twists were pretty unpredictable for me. I also thought that Ben and Zoe had decent chemistry. I watched it with my friends and we were all interested in their will they/won’t they. I do agree with you that we should have gotten flashbacks of the other champions escape rooms. Anyways, I love your content so much!

I honestly loved this one more than the first one, even though it was outlandish. And I just got done watching old today. It was very interesting and depressing!!

I really enjoyed the move, I thought that the rooms were unique and also had tension in them along with the way the rooms were solved was also really clever. The bank room was especially interesting, it really made me scared, Lasers are one of my biggest fears so it was really good at building up the tension, I loved how the room played with the laser security system but this time had actual lasers. The puzzles in this room were particularly well thought out, with the clues being two parts essentially. I thought that Amanda was a bit of a shame, as it did ruin the experience of her ‘death scene’ but it also was nice to see as Amanda was one of my favourites in the original movie. I did actually like the ending, I thought it was nicely written and built up, and also was a nice way to see the plane puzzle presented as I thought it was a shame that they didn’t use it until the last scene.

There are 2 versions of the ending D: I just finished watching it digitally and it had a completely different ending and your review of the plot twist really confused me. So I had to search up the Theatrical version ending and that ending is not good at all because it really lacks the tension of death in the games. The new ending is better, however, it does set up the 3rd sequel completely differently and it just ended so abruptly and I had to take a second and go... that's it? But please watch the new ending and give an update because I really want to know your review on that :D

I watched the first one recently and I really, really liked it. I thought the characters resolved the rooms in really satisfying ways. This movie felt like a really sad follow up. Love the video!

Tell us about Fear Street!! I totally loved them, they were so fun

The only character that I ever liked was Amanda. Thank god she’s back.

I just watched the movie. There’s an extended cut which I just watched, not knowing it was the extended cut. The ending, the twist, and the opening are completely different. You should watch the extended cut and see if you like it better cause I thought it was really good

I 100% agree. Everything about this film literally undercuts the original one in so many ways. Maybe the pandemic really affected the development of this movie but if that’s the case I really wish they would have just waited to make a proper well thought out sequel

You pretty much hit it on the head, the reason why I loved the first one so much was because I cared so much about the characters and when they “died” - even though none of the deaths were graphic, they were all very much felt! In the new movie they were figuring out things too fast…felt so rushed and contrived. I adore the actress Indya Moore so much and I loved the first one so I was a bit biased here, but the first one hyped me up so much for this.

How do you ALREADY introduce the idea of "bringing dead characters back" in the second installment ?!

I just looked at the score for this film on rotten tomatoes and it’s currently sitting at 46% with critics and 74% with audience - the first film had 51% for both

bro the "chammpions" part made me SO mad. Like I love the first one and the whole thing at the end is that even if you win you don't win, they kill you. It really was terrible they DIDN'T EVEN ADDRESS THAT. It's a HUGE pothole that, literally, they had Ben ask and then they got interrupted and it was never brought up again. Like they really wanted to do a Catching Fire champion game, huh. They should've done something else. Seeing the priest one would have been real cool, I think

I couldn't care less about this franchise. I'm just here for some spicy tea.

Thank you!! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who felt this way. You're probably the horror reviewer with the closest taste to my own which is very fun to watch aha

I agree that they should’ve had different characters and each time and then for the final movie do a tournament of champions type that would’ve been a good build up

Sarah rants are my fave, spill the tea ☕️

was just looking for a video to watch while eating so thank you

I really appreciated the recap at the beginning, cause the more I watched it, the more I realized how little I remember from that.

Also, @ 12:30 - I read a theory where they someone said they believe this was all a scam to get Zoey on the plane. That the characters we saw are probably previous game players, however, they were working for Minos the whole time. How did they end up getting all of them all on this one train, with no explanation? And like you said, Ben didn’t walk away easily, a dude tried to kill him, and when mentioned it to them, they brushed it off. Those characters could’ve been honestly just another part of getting Zoey on the plane

Your hair is stunning in this video!

Thank you so much for making this video, saved me $13. I'll just wait until it's on streaming services to watch it

Man, that is highly disappointing. I was so excited to see the second one cause I am a huge fan of the first one. I’m still gonna see it to see for myself but I’m not as excited to watch it now

I honestly was only gonna see it for Indya Moore. But after hearing this I’ll just wait to rent it or something. Could’ve done so much with this series but it’s just wasted potential.

As a fan of the first Escape Room, I totally agree with this rant. Very little of this movie made sense, and there were too many baffling choices. I'm okay with the series remaining PG-13, as long as the suspense is there like it was in the first movie (the upside down room with the distorted use of Petula Clark's "Downtown" was incredible!) This movie had very little suspense...the theater I was in was just full of laughter. I was happy to see Indya Moore at least.

I didn’t bother watching the theatrical version and went straight to the extended version, and from your review I think it solved and answered most of your problems

I wish we had flash backs for all these past champions. Adam had a different idea instead of tournament of champions according to an interview with him.

It's funny because I have so many of the same thoughts - the wasted potential of the early "tournament of champions" thing, the rooms not being as good, the weird "previously on" moment, the lack of character in the characters and THE EXACT SAME ENDING AS THE FIRST ONE 😂 ...but.. I kinda had fun enough with it. I think maybe I'm just not as invested in this as you when it comes to the first, Ive only seen it the one time so yeah lol. Awesome video as usual - you're not wrong about anything that you said in my opinion even if I kind of liked it I have to agree on your points haha

i absolutely agree with you. it bugged me that they didn’t add no flashbacks , it could’ve been the movie wayyy better.

I actually enjoyed it but that's probably because I didn't really care about the characters in the first that much, so here it wasn't really an issue either. I was watching with a bunch of friends who hadn't seen the first and they understood and enjoyed this one so I think(?) the recap actually helped, as odd as it was. I found it pretty tense, especially given they didn't really make any character too dislikeable which was alright. Honestly I didn't mind it but I definitely agree with everything you're saying, its dumb as hell.

I was just telling my daughter how much I couldn’t wait to see it. I also own it on dvd. I loved the rooms over the characters as well.

So I completely agree with you. I love the first one and this one was just such a let down. Like nothing made sense. My BIGGEST complaint is that they just dropped the character development they had in the first one. Clearly being a sequel we would follow zoey and Ben but in the first one Zoey was smarter then minos and like in this one she just plays along and survives like Ben in the first one. And TIME and TIME again they missed the mark in setting up a better sequel. I was still hanging on till the end with the “twist” when Amanda comes back but Zoeys decision was the last straw. If they would have had her accept the offer it would have been 10times better. Then in the sequel. It’s zoeys room. They put Ben in it and he is pissed at her, but since she is supposed to be smarter then minos she can successfully give hints throughout the rooms to help Ben and the other actual beat minos.

Honestly why wasn’t tournament of champions like another 3 or 4 movies down the line so we could actually get to know every character first if they want to play it that way????

in the extended cut, they explain the demand to see the games and bet on winners skyrocketed after Zoey and Ben's game so they essentially started letting people win so there would be more champions to bet on for this tournament -- that's why they all got out of their first games alive

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the extended version that's on VOD! I just watched it and it has a completely different storyline with new characters and I was wondering if your opinion on this movie would change. Mine certainly has! I would love to hear your thoughts.

"stay tuned to the end of the video. who cares?" I died laughing! i love sarahs content.

Love the feisty rant format :)

I think the idea of tournament of champions was cool but i agree it’s not perfect and isn’t as good as the first. I thought it was fun but there’s definitely plot issues and they tried too hard. The whole plot point with amanda was like soooo foreshadowed it didn’t even seem like a twist! I wish they did all of the escape rooms and “champions” as separate movies then brought them together. we wouldn’t have known who would live and who would die and we’d care so much more about the characters.

Thank you for this!! I loved the first one, and took my daughter to the second. It was so bad in parts that we just laughed and enjoyed it that way. But the whole time I am thinking... I remember the first one being good. Is there something wrong with my judgement etc.? So you really reminded me why the first was so good, and why this one sucked so much. I am saddened because I really like the main character, and they could have done so much more for her.

I watched this last night with my husband, and it was the extended version. There was no therapist, no Ben in the water tank, and it had more backstory stuff about the room creators. The plot twist that you mentioned in your version is not present in the extended version; Amanda wasn't back or anything. It sounds like the whole framing of the versions is completely different. Unfortunately, the effect was still the same in that this movie was a massive letdown. There were still some cool concepts for the rooms, which is what I enjoy, but the execution of the movie was just bad. I do have to give this movie props for having a transgender POC actress, Indya Moore, whose character wasn't defined by this, but, as you said, the characters didn't really have any depth at all.

Omg, I completely forgot one of them was a priest, that says a lot (I already forgot about it during watching the movie as well)

The bank escape room was good I really liked that

Maybe I’ll find some interest in the characters if they ever do a series of prequels about the certain escape rooms everyone experienced

I never thought of it as Final Destination considering the events were manmade. I thought this was the new Saw - i mean traps & escape rooms. But just like Saw, that's what youre in for. We're not here for story unfortunately.

Yo you better watch the extended cut cuz I hear it has a completely different storyline.

I blind bought the first one on your praise and really enjoyed it. Glad I have it. Now you’re the second of my fave RU-vidrs to not like this, so I’ll wait for streaming. I do think it has franchise potential if they can turn it around.

Alternate title: "Escape Room 2: The movie about the rooms where some people die and others escae but ultimately you just want to escape the room you're stuck in watching this horror show of a non horror show about escape rooms"

I’m more excited for don’t breathe 2 and I will need a review of it from you before I see it so I know how scary it is and if something like that scene with the turkey baster happens in it

Love you girl! ❤️

Its funny because its my top 3 favourite movie. But I agree so much with the statement you made that the characters in the first one had flashbacks about their pasts, I really want to see for example Rachel's past. Yes, and if you want to make Zoey and Ben look like theyre in love just make it more visible, if you cant do that just leave them as friends. But great review anyway! 👍

hey! okay so, i didnt know that the theatrically released version of escape room 2 had a totally different plot from the version of the movie that was released for on-demand streaming; and so i went to your channel to see if you made a review about escape room 2 and here it is! but then when i was watching this, i got really confused because you were talking about a completely different ending than the one that i saw and you were saying something about amanda returning which i also didn't see. i was wondering if you could maybe do a review on the extended version of this film? i'd really love to hear what you think of the different plot/ending of the extended cut because in my opinion, the plot of the extended version is actually good and it made sense.

I do agree with all of your points you brought up but I actually still really enjoyed the movie. Personally I thought the designs of all the escape rooms were much cooler which is why I liked it. I would’ve liked if it showed flashbacks of the characters winning their games to amplify the backstories.

“Previously on escape room” The line delivery of that was so hilarious 😂

Btw I rlly like this review bcuz I watched another review and he just talked abt shit which made me mad he said things in a way that upset me. But u were able to convince me with facts like the personalities of the characters.

I liked it just as much as the first personally. I don’t really agree with most the things you say, but i totally respect your opinion.

I loved the new rooms, I thought that acid room was particularly BRUTAL however I totally get what you mean about the writing being trash and the characters not being fleshed out enough. The story and character dynamics were absolutely handled without care and they just wanted to set up the future installments and create a franchise

I totally get your frustration with trailers 😫 I saw the trailer for 'OLD' in the cinema recently, and I thought it showed WAY too much. I don't even want to go and see the movie because so much of what makes the film intriguing was already shown off in the trailer. I hate how trailers are basically short movies now. 😤

I watched it today and I really liked it, it was good, intense, fun action and a good plot twist and cliffhanger, I can’t wait for the third one. Of course the first one was a bit better, but this one was still good in my opinion. That’s just my opinion for it that I really liked it and it was pretty good, and I respect your opinion and everyone’s opinion that didn’t like it, we can all like and dislike whatever we want :)

In the version of the movie I watched, Claire (the puzzle maker’s daughter) explained that she rigged the other people’s games so that there would be a winner, but Zoe was the only one to really outsmart them and survive in the end. I hate how they had multiple versions of this movie. I agree with the comments here that The Tournament of Champions should have been the final movie in this franchise, with all the characters returning being the main characters of their own movies first.

THANK YOU FOR THIS RANT 🙏 I share your anger and frustration bc I also loved the first movie. I came to accept it's flaws and appreciate it for what it was; a fun pg-13 movie with likable enough characters, a cool concept and super freaking dope escape rooms. It's my guilty pleasure. But the second film does in fact take away from what makes the first film shine. I don't need to get into detail bc you do it for me, but I was upset about the lack of rooms and the non characters. They try to expand upon this world while simultaneously giving us essentially nothing new. And I absolutely HATE that they chose to keep Amanda alive and that entire story arc surrounding her. It takes away from what made her character great in the first film and also the effectiveness of caring for a character and whether or not they die. Honestly, going the final destination route might be what's best for this franchise and start fresh with the third film.

Idk what really happened with the second movie. There's actually 2 versions, in one, Amanda is the Game Master, but that was the recent one. The first one that came out, had a whole diferent plot (same scape rooms and same characters). The game master is a girl named Claire and all 4 escape room's tell her mother's story... It all made sense. She tells Zoey at some moment after they meet, that the other champions were actually a plan to get more rating, they wouldn't have survived if Minos hadn't pull the strings so they would live. Zoey and Ben were actually the only ones who got out alive by their own means.

When I was 10 it used to be my favourite movie... then I rewatched it 4 years later and I don't know what I found so amusing on it.

Adam Robitel originally thought to do an anthology escape room with new people with new backrounds, but idk why he didn't do that.

I liked it. Was it a masterpiece no . It was however fun to watch and so sometimes that enough.

I miss these rant videos, so fun

I'm so glad they brought Amanda back, even if it was for a few minutes. I freaking love Deborah Ann Woll.

Sarah, are you going to be doing Halloween videos this year, like decor and DIY type stuff like last year? btw only 100 days left till Halloween! Also been loving the content since you switched full time to the horror channel :)

TBF this franchise has the potential... imagine this one is the 6th movie with all those that escaped the previous 5 movies... 1st Survivors 2nd Influencers 3rd Cant feel pain 4th Priests and 5th is like geniuses. Each Movie expands the lore just enough to keep ya coming back, letting this one focus on lore as we already know the characters... Like with all these expanded universe movies these movies would make sense doing it.

You Should do a Tier list of all the escape rooms. Also I like the recap. Especially because the movie came out 2 years ago. For people who forget everything that happened

SARAH PLEASEEEE Watch the extended cut, I actually really enjoyed it

Just saw it and I gotta say, I really liked it, though I think the fact, that I love the cast is a big reason why ... I also kinda agree with some of your criticism ... like I would have liked to see the characters be explored more ... and the idea of having the "Tournament of Champions" be a kind of team up movie with the winners all having their own respective movie before this one would be really cool and would also solve the issue of not getting to know the characters very well ...

i actually found this one more enjoyable than the first one bc i really liked the rooms & the priest guy. i thought it was pretty entertaining despite the horrible dialogue & exposition dumps. i completely understand why a lot of people dislike it though :,))) ) you raise a lot of good points!!!

I agree with all of this it's so dumb! That being said I did still enjoy it, probably because I wasn't huge on the first one. I actually think they're going more the Saw route than final destination, with a convoluted linear plot carrying through and more PG-13 elaborate traps. I didn't mind it, and I will totally check out any sequels they make, but yeah I'm a bit sad more effort wasn't put in to make it truly great.