good film yet some plot holes

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2005)

After seeing 'Saw 2' (2005) I came out from the cinema thinking it was the best horror movie I had ever seen. It contained everything I liked about the horror genre in it; scary psycho killer, psychological horror, riddles and of course a major twist at the end.
However I did find that a lot of the riddles in the film I had already guessed the answer to, which was probably because I had seen the first 'Saw' so was expecting them.
This leads me to believe that there possibly should not have been a sequel. It was a very good plot and I did think it was worth seeing, but it wasn't as fast paced as I would have expected it to be or liked it to be.
I thought the acting was exceptional and the camera angles throughout really helped to emphasise the horror. This was best shown when the girl fell in the pit of needles it went to an aerial view, which showed her expression, and her body surrounded by the needles.
Unfortunately I did notice a few plot holes. How did Xavier know which order to put the number combination in the safe? And the fact that Obi gets the syringe from the oven for someone else should have let him out as he has done his 'penance' by not being selfish yet he still burned alive?
Perhaps I am just thinking about it too much as the friend who I saw it with did not notice these. Judging from her reaction at some parts in during the film I can safely say it achieved a scream. until 'Saw 2' i had never bothered to look around at the audience but its actually really interesting looking at how people react. The most effective scenes at getting a reaction were those which preyed on people's general fears, such as needles and fire and lots of blood, especially when it slowly dribbled down someone's arms.
In conclusion I did feel that this was a great horror film yet it had too much to live up to as the first 'Saw' was so shocking. The shock effect and the art of the riddles did not impress a second time round.