Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller The sequel to the award-winning original took a big step down

According to Jonathan Klotz
| Published 28 seconds ago

Netflix can be the butt of jokes thanks to its Netflix Original movies, which often look not only cheap, but have been compiled according to a mindless algorithm for maximum appeal, and yet every now and then the streamer throws a hidden gem at viewers. in 2019 Platformabout a dystopian future prison built vertically with food lowered hundreds of floors for the prisoners trapped inside, was a Spanish sci-fi thriller that surprised everyone with its imaginative premise and clever writing. Five years later, The Platform 2 debuted on the streamer and its sole purpose was to serve as a reminder that the first movie was really good.

333 levels of hell

Platform 2 takes place in the same Vertical Self-Governing Center as the original, with the same top-down food concept and inmates being randomly assigned to a different floor each month. As in the first film, the prisoners are divided by factions between those who eat only what they need to survive and those who believe they can take what they want, often by force. It’s a straightforward way to represent class struggle in the real world science fiction a setting with all the violence, angst and well-intentioned people you’d expect, and that’s where I’d normally say “but with a twist”, except there’s no twist.

Perempuan, a woman who chose to join the Self-Governance Center as an act of reconciliation, is at the center Platform 2she finds herself embroiled in a simmering conflict between factions, only slightly complicated by the rise of a cult known as the Anointed Ones, who believe in solidarity among prisoners but enforce it through grotesque acts of brutal violence. While the first film relied mainly on intense conversations and a sense of discovery as the audience learned more about the brutal dystopia, the second took a more visceral approach to delivering its message and the story suffered as a result.

Return journey

Most of the first film is an echo Platform 2to “the message is the girl”, though it fails to capture the heightened drama and tension of Goreng’s descent into the depths of the prison complex. Perempuan starts the escape plan but it ends with a revelation that is meant to be shocking and show how evil and manipulative the operators behind the prison are, but we’ve seen that before. I haven’t seen a sequel so derivative since Hangover 2; at least then the movie openly admitted that they were doing the same thing again, but since then 22 Jump Street he bashed everything about sequels, none as blatant as this one.

At the same time, Platform 2 may not be as good as the first and it’s not nearly as original, but the heightened violence and social commentary still made for a decent viewing experience. Great science fiction reflects modern society through a futuristic lens, and stories of class struggle have unfortunately been relevant since humanity first built a permanent home. So even though we’ve seen this story before, it’s still worth telling and fans of the original might enjoy the return trip, but for others, go check it out Platform first.

Platform 2 is now available on Netflix.