Nowhere near as good as comments would lead you to believe

Rating: 5/10 (10 April 2006)

I had a soft spot for the first Saw, which went away after I saw it a second time. This one didn't even generate the goodwill that I have for nearly all horror movies. While there are a few sequences that are good, that are especially horrifying, there are a few major drawbacks. The characters are almost entirely two-dimensional. The methods of creating depth to characters seems to be that they'll deliver a hint at a back story, but there's little to no acting involved. Only one of the secondary characters has any traits. The situation is painful to watch because the people seem to be entirely ineffective individuals. The second problem is that the ending betrays the biggest point of the series - the villain (who has reached cartoonish super-villainy) breaks the rules of his character by performing an (implied) straightforward murder. Yes, it's passable for a rental, but it is hardly re-watchable.