The rare sequel that is intelligent AND in many ways better than its predecessor

Rating: 8/10 (9 April 2006)

I saw the original "Saw" when it came out in UK theaters back in 2004. I thought it was very good - thrilling, different and clever. The acting was pretty bad (especially the ending with Elwes' laughable facial contortions), but it was the jolt that horror sorely needed. It wasn't another slice-'em-dice'-em slasher flick - it was smarter.
When I read that they were almost instantly putting "Saw II" into production based on the success of the original - and that pretty much no one from the original film was returning except for Tobin Bell (who plays Jigsaw) - I had very small hopes. I even said on the message board for the film at one point that it was going to ruin the impact of the original.
Well, I was wrong. In many ways, "Saw II" is better than the original. The acting talents are far stronger -- Donnie Wahlberg (Marky Mark's brother) is so much better than Elwes was in the first film. Due credit to Elwes -- he's a fine actor usually, but in "Saw" he was embarrassing towards the end. Wahlberg is perfect for the film.
Another nice twist in the plot is that it isn't totally repetitive as the trailers would lead you to believe. It does something I've never seen before - the killer is arrested within the first twenty minutes AND unmasked. Tobin Bell is on-screen throughout the entire film in plain view, having discussions with Wahlberg.
The movie implements a lot of new twists such as the whole concept of "Rashomon"ing everything and going back and forth between different perspectives. The ending is brilliant because it's not just a throwaway shocker - it has a moral message that I never expected from this film.
The movie's interweaving plots and self-referential layers (such as a revisiting of the bathroom from the first movie) provide lots of fun and Jigsaw's game with the detective in the film is thought-provoking - this film is so much smarter and better than I ever expected and I was really blown away by the fact that we still have the capability of making good sequels to good movies that offer something fresh, rather than simply retreading material from the original.