Serf 2 (Kholop 2)

Following up on the phenomenal record-breaking success of the original 2019 film, director Klim Shipenko's "Serf 2" (Kholop 2) expands its wildly entertaining premise with bigger sets, grander historical illusions, and fresh faces. Grisha (Milos Bikovic), the notoriously arrogant billionaire's son who was violently "humbled" in the first film by being tricked into thinking he was a 19th-century peasant, is now highly sensitive to entitled arrogance. His new target for a massive, Truman Show-style psychological intervention is Katya (Aglaya Tarasova), an outrageously spoiled and law-breaking daughter of a high-ranking official.

The scale of the "re-education" project is drastically upgraded from a muddy peasant village to the lavish, high-stakes grandeur of the Russian Empire in 1812, right on the precipice of war. "Serf 2" successfully retains the sharp comedic timing and the satisfying moral compass of its predecessor while dialing up the production value with stunning period piece costumes and palace aesthetics. It is a highly satisfying, big-budget crowd-pleaser that proves the franchise still has plenty of hilarious tricks up its sleeve.