A huge step down from part 1

Rating: 6/10 (12 March 2006)

"Saw" was one of the most surprising and original hit movies of 2004. It had also been fairly cheap to make, so a sequel was produced immediately. The script for "Saw II" was derived from an already existing, "saw-ish" project that had been rejected for the longest time. After the success of "Saw" producers were reminded of that script and decided to adjust it so it would fit the story of Jigsaw and his crazy little world. At times this shows because the movie doesn't quite have the same feel as the first one. It's seems more like a mixture of "Cube" and "Home Alone".
A group of people is stuck in a house full of deadly traps. Needless to say most of them have their little secrets and they start to distrust each other after a while. Unfortunately, the characters' motivations are as predictable as they are unbelievable. Writers needed a little bit more drive so they decided that the group would consist of psychos who act unreasonably all the time, which makes for a couple of silly scenes.
Like in part one, there are two parallel story lines in "Saw II", but the storytelling is far less exciting than the first time around. At this point Jigsaw has just become too much of a super-brain. This killer is not only a genius, but apparently he also has the time and the money to realize each and every one of his sick fantasies. I know one shouldn't be nitpicky when it comes to such logical observations in psycho thrillers, but I really think they went a bit too far this time.
"Saw II" is also a step down when it comes to the lazy direction, the annoying editing and the less than average acting. The set decoration is a joke. You can literally see how cheap this production was. The rooms look so fake that I thought I was watching a TV-movie at times.
Yes, the death traps are gruesome and pretty creative. Yes, it is a torture to watch Jigsaw's victims die. And yes, one of the twists is enjoyably surprising, but the final solution is too unbelievable to be satisfying. The whole story seems forced. It's meant to match our expectations and at the same time blow our minds, but the problem is that the formula is already getting old. We've seen it before and better. "Saw II" isn't a catastrophe, but it can't compete with it's predecessor on any level.