The Platform 2
Without a doubt, the most notable success in the world of films during the pandemic was the Spanish dystopian thriller ‘The Platform’. The sight of the hungry prisoners dispersed in vertical arrays of isolated concrete blocks waiting for a huge floating slab of food was a stark reminder of the unbearable dullness that so many went though thanks to the virus. It was an unexpected look during those dry days. One would reignite such perfect conception now, one would be utterly wrong. Director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s ‘The Platform 2’, quite within the first thirty minutes of the film, makes the viewer realize why this return is a serious mistake.
This aspect of the world is consistent. The new prisoners, who have come for different reasons, choose a meal to eat every day and bring something with them that has nice memories or easy to bring. Every month, They, gradually, change from one level to the other. The upper levels are the best ones for they provide abundant food. The lower reaches are the ones that utterly depict famine. There are some other additional catches in the wrinkles. When the woman (Milena Smit) sleeps and wakes, the enormous Zamiatan (Hovik Keuchkerian) is already present in her cell. This is for level 24. She has croquettes and he has a pizza.
Both veteran inmates, one above the other, and the one below, have been trying to implement what they consider to be a fair rule You can eat only food of your choice and not that of the deceased, to eat a different kind of food, one must barter with others. That system, however, proves to be deeply flawed.
In the same way, these new plot devices are not enough to give much life to the concept as well. Rather this follow up does not only look like the same old routine, it has even slightly blunted the edged of the previous movie. The whole picture is too plain stupid. It takes forever to figure out where the Perempuan is from. The officials of the regime known as the Loyalists and led by a blind berserk Anointed One Dagin Babi (Ken Appledorn) are equally enigmatic. Aside from their goal to impose stability, it’s hard to ascertain what drives them to so relentlessly propagate this regime. There is of course the religious angle messiahs, evil figures and references to all sorts of hells, but these come across as broad archetypes rather than sophisticated worldbuilding.
You find it hard to identify what is the thesis of the movie since the plot is full of contradictions.
Is it as simple as an equal system still having cold force behind it, or is it simply denounced with a call of a COVID lockdown by puritans who invaded people’s personal space?
Anyways, “The Platform 2” has just done what most of the people have anticipated. Soon enough, it brings back a character from the previous flick, recycles the cliches and tones that were in the previous film and even tries to connect the two with a boring post-credit scene. But it’s my opinion that none of this stuff is sufficient to create the same magic. Instead, this movie should have developed its main character further Perempuan is an elongated blank non-person, after all – and changed its aesthetic significantly. While the first movie was fantastic in capitalizing the small setting and utilising natural hostilities and mind games, this one is a constant focus on the close up shots making it more of an annoying viewing experience.
The ridiculous ending or even the existence of this sequel feels misplaced even. On the contrary, it seems to be the further extension of the idea which has almost run dry. It might have been better if “The Platform 2” had been shelved permanently.
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