Platform 2 (2024) movie review and summary

There may have been no bigger hit of the pandemic than the Spanish-language dystopian thriller “Platform.” In this film, the prisoners, confined to hundreds of levels of individual concrete cells while waiting for a giant slab of food floating on the water, felt not very different from the confined existence many experienced while living with the virus. It was a surprising cathartic gift during these lean months. It would seem a mistake to return to this ideal idea. Already after the first half-hour of “Platform 2” directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, it is clear that this return is indeed a serious mistake.

The mechanics of this world are the same. Arriving prisoners, for their various reasons for being there, have choices about what they eat each day and what personal items they choose to comfort or protect them. They move from one level to the next every month. Higher levels are better and provide more food. The lower parts promise hunger. There are a few extra wrinkles. When Perempuan (Milena Smit) wakes up, she finds the powerful Sweep (Hovik Keuchkerian) also occupying her cell. They are on level 24. She eats croquettes and he eats pizza. Veteran inmates above and below have tried to implement a system they say is fair: You can only eat the food you choose; you must not eat the food of those who died; the only way you can eat another item is by trading with someone else. However, this system turns out to have profound flaws.

Likewise, these new plot developments are not enough to bring this concept to life. Rather, this sequel not only feels more similar, but also dulls the sharpness of the previous film. The whole movie is too confusing. It takes too long to discover why Perempuan is here. The system’s enforcers, known as Loyalists and led by a blind and cruel Anointed One known as Dagin Babi (Ken Appledorn), are an equally opaque group. Apart from the desire to maintain law and order, it is unclear what their motivation is for perpetuating this system so brutally. There is, of course, a religious element – messiahs, demonic figures, and allusions to various circles of hell – but these act more as generic symbols than strong world-building.

Due to the inconsistency of the story, it is impossible to tell what the film is talking about. Is the point that even fair systems can lead to cold repression? Or was he criticizing COVID lockdowns, claiming that puritanical isolation violates human rights?

In any case, “Platform 2” suffers from offering just more of the same. It’s soon echoing characters from the first film, revisiting overworked premonitions and metaphors from the first film, and even trying to neatly tie the two works together via a tight post-credits scene. None of this is enough to conjure the same magic. Instead, the film needed to develop its main character more – Perempuan is nothing more than a drawn cipher – and diversify its visual language. While the first film made fantastic use of limited space for natural rivalry and psychological unrest, this one relies too much on close-ups, which feel repetitive in the face of the slime-tinged surroundings.

Neither the cheesy ending nor the mere existence of the second part is meritorious. Instead, it languishes as the last drops of a once brilliant idea are squeezed out. It would probably be better if “Platform 2” was simply shut down.

Now on Netflix.