Director: Ryan Bellgardt
Year: 2025
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Dinosaurs
Plot:
Setting up a new set of games, a former survivor of the previous games is sent undercover to the next round of games going on when the game itself is hijacked during a series of maintenance checks, pitting the team against each other to play the game for the chance at escaping alive.
Review:
This was a likable if somewhat disjointed follow-up effort. One of the better features within here is the rather strong starting point that offers a slightly more original and unique take on the formula of the first one. The central idea involving the team experiencing the series of disruptions and glitches that require the technical repair team to enter the game to figure out what’s going on, only to find that the game itself is starting up a broadcast with the previous host to try restoring it which puts them into the game itself under the usual series of tribulations against each other in the form of dinosaurs combat. This allows for the film to still run through the usual format of undergoing the different stages of combat while also switching it up slightly, with the team trying to understand the mechanics of what the glitch is all about in its quest for ratings that put everything in motion in fine form.
With them in the game, the series of interactions featured here involving the group coming across the various dinosaurs makes for quite a lot to like about it. The first encounters featuring the creatures running through the woods chasing the team as they engage in a race on hoverbikes, trying to partake, is a strong start, featuring a slew of different dinosaurs on both sides, where the racers can transform into the creatures to give them an advantage while the dinosaurs are also chasing after them. A major stage in the area requiring them to play as dinosaurs to take part in the encounters offers up the kind of solid spectacle-based interactions that are focused on in the setpiece. The final stages of the game, involving the team trying to work through a maze filled with raptors or trying to outmaneuver a team of dinosaurs blocking them from accessing a special fail-safe to get out of the game, feature even more fun action as the sci-fi bent to the material helps to make the creatures look good enough despite the obvious CGI limitations, get enough of a spectacle-based genre effort. All together, these all make for a lot of strong positives.
There are some drawbacks here that hold it down. The biggest issue here is the strange sensibility towards the way the hosts treat the creation of the game and the way it’s being broadcast. The whole thing is treated as if it’s all about a type of control over what’s going on and trying to manipulate the system to make sure the illicit broadcast is going off as part of a planned shoot, yet there’s the behavior at the end where it treats the players attempting to shut it down as a positive thing. Looking at the different reaction and intent behind it is a strange take on this idea, where the differing tone is distracting enough to be confusing and disjointed. As well, the whole point of the game being started up at this stage in the first place is a rather weird sell that tries to make everything feel quite difficult to get around due to the lame reasoning to get this started in the first place. Combined with some cheesy sci-fi-tinged CGI that looks somewhat silly, these all manage to hold this one back.
Overview: ****/5
An immensely fun and cheesy genre effort, there’s a lot to like here and not too many in the way of flaws that keep this one a solid overall take on the style that’s almost as good as the original. Those with an interest in this style of genre fare, who appreciate cheesy genre entries, or who are fans of the original, will have a lot to like here, while only those turned off by those factors should heed caution.
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