Note this movie has 2 versions, one is the cinema version called the "theatrical cut" and is 1h 28m and more common to find, and the other is called the "extended cut" and is 1h 36m. Despite the misleading titles, the extended cut is NOT just the same movie with a few extra scenes. It's a very different movie where the beginning and the end tell a complete different story with complete different characters, while only the middle part of the two versions is identical. I think many people are not aware of the two very different versions telling a different story, and my guess is that majority of the really low rates are coming from peope who watched the theatrical version. This is a spoiler free review to tell you the differences between them without revealing the actual story of each.
To identify which one you are watching, note the theatrical one is the one starting with a therapy session, while the extended one is the one starting with a 2003 flashback.
Neither of these versions is too great, none of them is as good as the first Escape Room movie. But still, the extended cut version is BY FAR better story wise.
The extended cut develops the main story behind the rooms and kinda moves the story forward. The twist in the end is just slightly predicatble (seen it in a few other movies so it's not original) and not fully baked but is still kinda nice, the idea behind it is just better than the other version, and the movie is not a total waste of time and is still enjoyable even if it isn't a masterpiece. The overall movie there is 6 out of 10 in my opinion.
The theatrical cut however is a complete different story, and in my opinion is more like 2 out of 10. The story there feels lazy in a way, it is sort of a repeat of the first Escape Room movie (just not nearly as good) because you learn pretty much nothing at all about the universe of the movies. You don't get any background details about anything. There is a so called "twist" in the end but it's pretty much nothing and you can see it coming from miles away. This one in my opinion is a total waste of time.
After watching both versions, I am very confused on why they picked the theatrical one to be the official version. It feels like they filmed the extended one first, didn't fully like what it implies about possible future movies, and tried to replace it with some rushed things without having to refilm the whole game, so they found quick "solutions" to still use the same middle part, and it really shows. The whole "Sonia" part is what gives it away in my opinion as it was solved in a very lazy way in the theatrical cut and didn't make any sense, you could tell it was just an excuse to reuse the same already-filmed parts. It is clear that the extended one is what the movie originally intended to be. That also explains why they delayed the release of that movie by a long time and filmed more scenes after over a year of break.
As for the middle part that is shared between both of the versions - it is nice but just not very sophisticated. They are kinda rushing the game as if they are in a race and it doesn't leave enough time for the puzzles to be clever in any way. You don't get to explore anything with the characters, they just randomly understand all of the solutions quickly and explain them to you. Due to how rushed it is, you also don't get to learn the back story or the personality of any of the characters playing the game, other than the ones you already know from the first movie. The rest of the players are just fillers with no story that are just there as decorations, they could all be one person or not be there at all and it wouldn't make a difference. It is nice to pass time but nothing close to the game rooms in the first movie, and honestly there are so many alternative similar movies and TV programs in this style with game rooms and traps, that in comparison to them, this one just isn't good.
In conclusion - If you can only watch one version, I highly recommend you pick the extended one. If you plan to watch both versions, I suggest starting with the extended one first for the better experience, and only then watching the theatrical one. If you are watching a second version and you want to skip the parts that are identical between the movies, the shared part starts when they get to the train station, and ends with the yellow cab scene (start watching slightly before that scene ends). Everything in between those parts is identical in both versions and is safe to skip if you've already watched one of them.
To identify which one you are watching, note the theatrical one is the one starting with a therapy session, while the extended one is the one starting with a 2003 flashback.
Neither of these versions is too great, none of them is as good as the first Escape Room movie. But still, the extended cut version is BY FAR better story wise.
The extended cut develops the main story behind the rooms and kinda moves the story forward. The twist in the end is just slightly predicatble (seen it in a few other movies so it's not original) and not fully baked but is still kinda nice, the idea behind it is just better than the other version, and the movie is not a total waste of time and is still enjoyable even if it isn't a masterpiece. The overall movie there is 6 out of 10 in my opinion.
The theatrical cut however is a complete different story, and in my opinion is more like 2 out of 10. The story there feels lazy in a way, it is sort of a repeat of the first Escape Room movie (just not nearly as good) because you learn pretty much nothing at all about the universe of the movies. You don't get any background details about anything. There is a so called "twist" in the end but it's pretty much nothing and you can see it coming from miles away. This one in my opinion is a total waste of time.
After watching both versions, I am very confused on why they picked the theatrical one to be the official version. It feels like they filmed the extended one first, didn't fully like what it implies about possible future movies, and tried to replace it with some rushed things without having to refilm the whole game, so they found quick "solutions" to still use the same middle part, and it really shows. The whole "Sonia" part is what gives it away in my opinion as it was solved in a very lazy way in the theatrical cut and didn't make any sense, you could tell it was just an excuse to reuse the same already-filmed parts. It is clear that the extended one is what the movie originally intended to be. That also explains why they delayed the release of that movie by a long time and filmed more scenes after over a year of break.
As for the middle part that is shared between both of the versions - it is nice but just not very sophisticated. They are kinda rushing the game as if they are in a race and it doesn't leave enough time for the puzzles to be clever in any way. You don't get to explore anything with the characters, they just randomly understand all of the solutions quickly and explain them to you. Due to how rushed it is, you also don't get to learn the back story or the personality of any of the characters playing the game, other than the ones you already know from the first movie. The rest of the players are just fillers with no story that are just there as decorations, they could all be one person or not be there at all and it wouldn't make a difference. It is nice to pass time but nothing close to the game rooms in the first movie, and honestly there are so many alternative similar movies and TV programs in this style with game rooms and traps, that in comparison to them, this one just isn't good.
In conclusion - If you can only watch one version, I highly recommend you pick the extended one. If you plan to watch both versions, I suggest starting with the extended one first for the better experience, and only then watching the theatrical one. If you are watching a second version and you want to skip the parts that are identical between the movies, the shared part starts when they get to the train station, and ends with the yellow cab scene (start watching slightly before that scene ends). Everything in between those parts is identical in both versions and is safe to skip if you've already watched one of them.
