The Platform caught audiences by surprise when it premiered on Netflix in 2020. Having been released in Spain the previous year, the dark thriller quickly won praise from critics. While it failed to achieve mainstream success, the film is a must-watch for fans of political and philosophical stories. Following prisoners sentenced to time in a pit where starvation is always a possibility, The Platform examined the stratification of society, class struggle, and the roots of revolution. Its sequel cleverly picked up on these themes while offering a new twist. Despite receiving less favorable reviews, The Platform 2 is an important continuation of the story and deserves to be watched by fans of the original.
Seemingly picking up after the first movie, The Platform 2 begins much like the first. Two people find themselves new partners on a level of the ominous pit and begin to learn about one another. The primary difference is that change is underway in the pit. Following the sacrifice of a messianic figure, people are trying to organize and establish law in their society. This change forms the basis of the movie and is what makes the sequel a unique and important addition to the story.
The Platform 2 Explores the Dark Side of Revolution
- A primary theme of The Platform is the need for society to reorganize itself to distribute wealth with more equity.
- «Spontaneous solidarity» among members of society is presented as a goal.
- The first film seemingly ends with Goreng’s sacrifice, providing the catalyst for this change.
The Platform was primarily about the brokenness of society and the need for fundamental change. With a blunt but effective metaphor, it portrayed the nature of social stratification and massive gaps between the rich and the poor. Every month in the pit, those at the top can eat as much as they like and, with few exceptions, gleefully take more than they need at the expense of those below them. Meanwhile, those in the middle feel fortunate to survive, envying those above them and despising those below. Those at the bottom suffer and often die. While the ordering of the pit and who’s on top can change from month to month, the system and the starvation remain.
Over the course of the movie, viewers see some characters who accept this order without question, while others question it and some even take action and personally sacrifice to change it. It’s implied that revolution is the answer and the only problem is convincing large numbers of people to act in unison, taking personal risk for a greater good. When Goreng and Baharat stage their two-man uprising against the system, it quickly becomes dark and violent, but it’s also hinted that they’ve achieved something real at the end. Finding the child on the lowest level and sending her up to the top, it is hoped, sends a «message» that will have to be heard and acknowledged. The Platform 2 suggests that such actions can have a tremendous effect but questions whether it is ultimately for the better.
The Platform 2 begins sometime after a symbolic act of sacrifice and revolution has occurred in the pit, with audiences meant to believe it was Goreng’s rescue of the child. A movement has formed around this heroic figure, seeking to impose a new law in the pit that ensures everyone is able to get enough food to survive. While, at first, it seems that Goreng has succeeded and real, positive change is underway, it quickly becomes apparent that this movement is not the noble organization it presents itself as. Acting with an almost religious zeal, the «loyalists» brutally impose their vision on their fellow prisoners.
While their intentions are good and many plainly believe they are doing the right thing, torture and murder are regularly employed to achieve their ends. One of the loyalists’ «anointed ones,» Dagin Babi, appears to have become a sadist, reveling in his power over others and his ability to inflict pain and suffering. All of this serves to show the dark side of revolution and the danger that follows when order breaks down. It’s telling that one of the loyalists is named Robespierre, evoking an important figure from the French Revolution. Just like the historical revolution that began as a movement for equality, liberty, and brotherhood, only to devolve into infighting and mindless destruction, the loyalists may have begun with a noble goal but are now a force for terror and death. Fans are left wondering not if revolution is possible, but if it can ever be channeled into truly positive reform.
The Platform 2 Features One Particularly Clever Twist
- The Platform 2 opens with the implication that it is picking up after the events of the first movie.
- Fans are meant to think that Goreng is the heroic figure that sparked change in the pit.
- The revelation that The Platform 2 is not a sequel comes at the height of tension in the story.
The Platform 2 builds on this idea of whether positive change can actually be brought about with its most clever twist, which comes halfway through the film. Throughout the first act, fans are meant to think that they are seeing a true sequel, following events after those of the first film. During the height of the second act, however, Trimagasi, Goreng’s first cellmate, appears as a new prisoner. This simple development suddenly reveals that The Platform 2 is actually a prequel, taking place months before the first film. Where viewers had assumed Goreng was the messianic figure who started the revolution, he had not even arrived in the pit yet.
This twist immediately forces fans to confront several harsh truths. First, they must recognize that Goreng’s was not the first act of selfless revolt to occur in the pit. Second, they are forced to conclude that, by the time Goreng arrived, all knowledge of the previous revolt and attempted reform had been all but forgotten. Finally, they must conclude that these sorts of events are likely common in the pit, happening at regular intervals only to be undone with a return to the status quo.
Where The Platform asked if people could ever spontaneously organize and revolt against a corrupt system, The Platform 2 argues that such revolts are common. Instead, it asks if these revolts can ever truly change anything or if they are simply part of the corrupt system itself. Instead of being society-redefining events, the prequel masquerading as a sequel presents mass movements as nothing more than a pressure valve, turned periodically to release some tension without actually changing anything.
This brilliant twist not only forces fans to rethink everything they’ve seen in The Platform 2, it demands that they reevaluate the entire series, from the beginning of the first movie. The larger theme remains the same, with both films highlighting wealth inequality and the need for change. Just how this theme is explored and what conclusions can be drawn, however, are dramatically shifted halfway through the second movie.
The Platform 2 forces fans to reevaluate the original
- The painting The Dog, by Francisco de Goya features prominently in The Platform 2.
- The Dog evokes feelings of being overwhelmed and isolated, which aligns with the themes of the movie.
- Goya painted The Dog during a period of depression, and it is part of a series known as the «Black Paintings.»
Amazingly, The Platform 2 manages to make the first film even more dark and depressing than it first appeared. Already an incredibly bleak story, The Platform at least ended on a somewhat hopeful note. Goreng has suffered incredible trauma and is likely to die soon, but he has succeeded in his goal and there is reason to believe it may have an impact. The Platform 2, however, forces fans to reconsider this view of the ending in light of the knowledge that his sacrifice was not the first. Based on the events of the second movie, the most likely conclusion is that Goreng’s actions at the end of the first will lead to a brief period of upheaval where he is held as a revolutionary hero, but this will give way to greater violence, civil war in the pit, and an eventual return to older patterns with Goreng completely forgotten.
In terms of basic premise and plot structure, The Platform 2 can feel much like a retread of the first movie. This is likely what led to its poor reception compared to its predecessor. While it looks quite similar on the surface, however, the second film does something much more clever. It plays with the themes of the first movie in a way that calls its core message into question and forces fans to reconsider what the larger story is actually about.
The Platform 2 didn’t wow critics and audiences like the original, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. Indeed, if one looks past the similarities, it becomes clear that the sequel has the courage to reframe the entire story. It offers a different perspective on the pit, Goreng’s sacrifice, and the call for revolution. Fans of The Platform shouldn’t let poor reviews dissuade them from checking out the second installment. It’s a vital part of the larger narrative and an excellent film in its own right.
