A second part that's actually good

Rating: 8/10 (20 March 2017)

My expectations towards "Saw II" naturally weren't the highest. There have been too many plain stupid second parts of successful movies to be all too excited about them. I especially feared, that the splatter element of the series could become dominant and thereby force the more thought-through thriller elements in the background.
Luckily I can say that didn't happen and more so, I am even pleasantly surprised about how much I liked the second movie. Yes, it is not as fast and steadily thrilling as the first part, there are sequences that seem a bit long and make you ask yourself whether this couldn't be shortened. But especially the end, that at least I didn't see coming, makes up for these scenes and gives the whole story a new dimension and plausibility.
I know that "Saw" has developed into a quite controversial series. Many people seem to dislike it, even more so when it comes to the later parts. But for me, if you let go of some minor mistakes like quite lucky timing etc., "Saw" unites many of the aspects I'd like to see more frequently even in less brutal or spectacular thrillers. The series was a commercial success. But for me at least the first two parts are seriously underestimated when it comes to their quality.