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A good sequel
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
was an exciting film that freaked me out LOT. my oldest child loves the films and will watch them over and over again. with out getting bored of nowing what happens at the end.
the postage wasnt paid as it stated, which meant it cost me extra and i had to pick it up from mail depot. a real pain
Saw II is a fine example of a sequel that works because it's a sequel. Too many sequels nowadays make ghastly attempts to give more of whatever the first offered, which was presumably good enough to have said sequel. However while some people are too busy thinking up the same movie again, others decide to not only build upon what was established in the first movie but to also use these establishments as a foundation for something special in it's own right and within today's torrents of sequels barely worth the DVDs they're on, it's glad to see hope, that people still know how to make superior sequels, in the form of Saw II. This movie had a lofty cliff to climb in it's making, as rarely have films like it's predescessor established so much, of what would become trademarks, in the first outing. Indeed the sick traps of the titular Jigsaw Killer are already one of the franchise's selling points, and it was a given fact that they would have to be bigger, better as well as sicker than before to appease the appetites of it's poised fans, who were left wanting more from the surprise success of the first movie. But Saw stood apart from the fastly-growing crouds of what could be referred to as just another bloody horror movie, with it's convoluted plot and characters who are there for more than to just be victims. Saw II would have to grow on both of these as well as the infamous ending plot-twist of the first film. I can't really say much here, as it's a kind of unwritten rule that reviewers aren't allowed to spoil things, however I will say this: You won't be dissappointed. The basic premise of the movie is that more victims wake up inside one of Jigsaw's iconic traps. One of these is Amanda, the only person to survive another of Jigsaw's 'games'. Needless to say, building on the cult bathroom of the first movie, this Saw now has an entire house loaded with an ironic trap for each victim... and maybe a few more thrown in for good measure. If you're an avid Saw fan, it should be no surprise to learn that this is not the only thing going on in the movie, as 10 minutes into the opening of Saw II, Jigsaw himself is captured and interrogated by the police. However this is all a part of Jigsaw's ultimate plan... The movie, however, doesn't come without it's faults. The traps, this time around aren't as gory nor as clever as those on the first movie, but this can be forgiven due to them being part of a much more bigger and complex trap. Plus the victims lack personality and relavance of the original victims, and are reduced to mere stereotypes. However these faults can all be forgiven since, by the end of the film, they do more to help than hinder the plot, and are an obvious sign of a movie with it's priorities focused firmly on what makes the movie good. As I said earlier this movie works more as a sequel than it would as a stand-alone movie and fortunatly there are quite a few referances for fans of the first. Becuase the main plot-twist towards the end of the first Saw was Jigsaw's true identity, it is good to see this movie working on that and giving Jigsaw some much-needed character development, the conversations between Jigsaw and his interregator Matthew, (who plays a much more important part towards the end of the film.) never get boring, which is a good thing as the movie constantly changes back and forth from these conversations back to the 'funhouse' and it's gradually fewer victims... And yes, there is blood...Read full review
In their attempt to one-up the snuff film sadomasochism that propelled “Saw” to take in a staggering $55 million at the box office last year, the makers of “Saw II” did everything that you would expect from a sequel: they raised the squirm factor tenfold, but in exchange sacrificed character development. What you get is a movie that is even more disturbing than the original, if that’s at all possible. It even has a tidy, plausible ending that I wouldn’t think of giving away. The only catch is that you don’t particularly care what happens to any of these people. The movie begins, “Scream” style, with one unlucky bastard waking up in a cell and forced to play a “game” with John, the Jigsaw killer (Tobin Bell). I ruin nothing by telling you he fails, and suffers a quick, but gruesome, death. As the police investigate Unlucky Bastard’s death, they bring in Detective Eric Mason (Donnie Wahlberg), who’s now doing desk work by choice, to provide some insight on the case, which is being led by his former partner Kerry (Dina Meyer). Mason discovers a link to a possible hideout, so the cops raid the place, and sure enough, they find Jigsaw, expecting their arrival. John has a surprise for them, though: he has eight people locked away in a booby trapped house, inhaling nerve gas that will kill them in two hours. One of those eight people is Daniel, Mason’s troublemaking son. In order to give up their location, Mason needs to play a game with Jigsaw, while the clock not so subtly ticks in the background. One of the ways that “Saw” ratcheted up the tension was in the back-and-forth between Adam (Leigh Whannell, who co-wrote both “Saw” movies) and Lawrence (Cary Elwes). While they both knew that the only way out of their predicament was to work together, Jigsaw made it clear that they were also in direct competition with each other. As a storytelling device, this served two purposes: it developed the characters, and it raised the stakes without raising the gore factor. The problem with “Saw II” is that the only way the plot stays afloat is to have none of these eight people talk to each other, something that the hostages happily, maddeningly oblige. This every-man-for-himself approach produces some pretty bad acting along the way, highlighted by macho dumbass Xavier (Franky G), who actually subjects another hostage to play the game that Jigsaw has assigned him. (Can’t say we blame him; it’s the worst of the bunch, by a mile.) This approach also produces a higher body count, as required by law of any horror sequel. It does not produce, however, the same kind of suspense that made “Saw” such a surprise hit. And yet, as the events unfold, you can forgive the execution of the story, because they have once again come up with one killer ending, pardon the pun. At the risk of giving too much away, I will simply say that it is no left field cheat. There may be a laundry list of dropped threads and missed opportunities along the way, but damned if they didn’t nail the ending, again. “Saw II” is as good as anyone could have expected from a 25-day shoot and a shoestring budget (more expensive than “Saw,” but clearly still cheap). While the script wasn’t honed as sharply as its predecessor, the movie is rather adept in at least distracting the viewer from its flaws until long after the credits roll. As sequels go, it’s better than most. But there is surely an unrated director’s cut somewhere in our future that will leave this in the dust.Read full review
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