A continuation of perfection.

Rating: 10/10 (21 September 2008)

Someone apparently didn't tell the men and women behind the Saw franchise that thrillers had to be about terrorists, boobs, and have a clichéd social commentary that we've heard since we were 3-years-old. That's why the Saw franchise is easily the only truly original movies being released todaythey break every genre rule you think you know.
Saw II takes the same formula from the original Saw and spins it, making it bigger and gorier. It allows you a much deeper look into the mind of Jigsaw, and further shows that Jigsaw himself defies any and every cliché you thought a villain must abide by. What makes him so complex is that he isn't a villain at all; in reality, he's the only good guy in the entire franchise.
Also, Saw II proves thrillers can be thrilling. I simply cannot remember a thriller that actually had something going on from beginning to end, without a single dead spot in the entire movie, but that is exactly what Saw II is. There are no pointless conversation scenes that plague every thriller/action movie because the director thinks he's so original, when in reality the audience understood the movie from the first trailer. Saw II gives the audience creditthank God someone, anyone, understands how to tell a truly adrenaline-pumping story.
Gore-wise, the movie excels. In an era when Hollywood has turned to generic, family-friendly gore, it's insanely refreshing to see a series that actually makes gore disturbing again. People often compare the Saw franchise to Hostel as far as gore, and all I can say is this: Saw blows Hostel out of the water here. Hostel uses cut-off camera scenes, where NONE of the gore is on screen, and all the gore is generic and boring. The Saw series, specifically Saw II, does not cut the camera away for ANYTHING. Everything is on-screen, and everything is disturbing and cringe-worthy. Saw II is easily the most brutal of the Saw series.
None of the five plot twists in the end of Saw II match the single plot twist in the end of the original Saw, but there is the thing: the movie has five plot twists! It takes a lot of thought just to inject a single sub-par twist into a movie without making it seem gimmicky, but Saw II does five of them with perfection. Once again, how can a movie get better than this? Like I said when I wrote my review for Saw and Saw III, how can a movie get more perfect? The action never stops or even slows, and the plot puts most every movie of our generation to shame. Saw II makes every other thriller I have ever seen, including Hostel and it's sequel, look just downright cute.
10/10