The Saw has gone blunt

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2006)

Saw was a well-written piece of work that balanced suspense and drama. There was sufficient gore to keep the audience happy (well, those who came to watch it for the gore) and shocked as well.
Sadly, Saw II does not live up to its predecessor. There are a few key things missing that made Saw such a treat to watch.
The first being character development. This same easy for Saw because the focus was mainly on two individuals. In Saw II, there's quite a few of them and hence not all of them get explored. Heck, the majority of the characters are very obnoxious and antagonistic and it's hard to care for any of them. But this could have been done to make the audience cheer for their deaths.
The next would be suspense. There isn't simply enough of this to keep me shocked or glued to my seat. Plus those who have seen the first one (or Cube) won't be as fearful for their familiarity. The deaths were also more predictable.
I also credit the advertisements for ruining some of the best moments in the film. Why do film ads these days have to ruin the best parts of the film?
There is also a lacking build-up that was present in Saw. But again this problem is an attribute to the number of characters present plus the limited screening time.
What this film maintains however is the great writing. While the film didn't have as much shocking moments as Saw, it has a pretty sweet twist and I give credit to that.
This movie is better credited as a "slasher flick" rather than a suspense. This is not to say that the movie is not good. It is still entertaining. I recommend this to anyone who loves gore but to those who are expecting something of the same magnitude as Saw, better not see this or you'll be disappointed.
3/5