Reasonable but not as good as the original.

Rating: 7/10 (21 May 2006)

It seems like such a cliché to say it but I have to go along with the majority of other reviewers who seem to be agreed that 'Saw II' is basically not as good as the original. That still leaves a lot of scope however, given that 'Saw' was such an excellent film.
It may just be that sequels never work (Godfather Part II being the exception that proves the rule!) But it is always disappointing when you have enjoyed the first one so much, to finish watching the second with a feeling of letdown.
That said, Saw II is not in itself a bad film. It only really suffers in comparison to its predecessor. The pace of the sequel is good, the original premise is retained but with interesting new twists and the acting is, in general, better than average - without any one performance worthy of being singled out as excellent (with the possible exception of Tobin Bell's menacing portrayal of Jigsaw).
One of the main problems here is that the script is crammed full of too many characters, and so there is little time for developing these and giving them real depth, with the result that a few of them are really fairly one-dimensional, about whom it is difficult to care too much. (This is a mistake that was very much NOT the case with the original!)
Overall, it's OK. Go and see it. But just don't expect anything miraculous - and I'd certainly say that you should not see this film without seeing the original Saw first.