Hugely disappointing sequel.

Rating: 3/10 (30 October 2005)

To me, Saw was never a film that could really be made into a series or franchise. There were many comparisons made with Se7en around the release of Saw and, although it was quite a loose comparison, both films did really make their impact as stand alone 'jaw drop' twist films.
So forgive me for being iffy about Saw 2 from the moment I heard it was seriously going to be made. But I gave it a chance and I was sadly massively disappointed by this sequel. I'll try not to go on a rant here...
Saw was a film that got under the audiences skin not simply because of the twisted and disturbing premise of a serial killer who does not actually kill with his own hands, but also due to the character development building up through the film that made it's dark and unforgiving ending have such an incredible impact. We began to feel like we knew the characters a little by the end of the film, thanks to flashbacks and snatches of dialogue between the two victims. We could begin to place ourselves in the situation of the film because it felt more rounded and perhaps we could even relate to these characters.
Relating to the characters in Saw 2 is not an option. Not only does it present depressingly familiar stock characters (the tough cop in the midst of a divorce, the son going off the rails who just longs to be loved, the hard ass female partner who has at some point got close to the tough cop, the special squad that just want to 'kick some ass!' or 'take him down!' or shout 'let's dooooo this!') Exactly who are we meant to relate with in the film? Perhaps nobody, but how then is this film meant to be as effective as the first? We certainly can't relate to the good guys as we know little to nothing about them. Do we see any of their home life? No. Their past? No, but we get a few 'shocks' far too late in the film. How are we meant to care whether they have any sort of a moral code if we know squat about them? Of course we're not going to relate to the 'baddie'. I doubt few people did in the first film, although the idea of his motive and his status was a particularly interesting one. Well, it was until this film when they attempt to break it down by making Jigsaw more human. Not only does Jigsaw look and sound different and far less threatening in this picture, he gets the most character development out of everyone. You think this could be positive? Wrong. Very soon, you'll begin to long for the certain amount of mystery that surrounded him.
I promised not to rant, didn't I? Well, I'll skim over the rest, The victims are terribly 2D. Convicts and ex junkies and the 'joker card' that connects them all, we never know much about their pasts either. They're simply used as cannon fodder. If the deaths were sickeningly inventive again then maybe that would suffice, but they're not. The whole 'needle' scenario is about the only 'oh no!' bit in this film. Once again, how is this meant to get under our skin if you've destroyed every element that made the first film genuinely special? Finally, the ending/surprise twist. I can't say much without saying too much. Simply put, they've really clutched at straws here. See it for yourself, you'll see what I'm talking about.
When the first film came out, I tried to see it twice before I actually managed to get tickets. The screening I attended was once again completely sold out. Word of mouth had done the job well. At the end of the first film I felt like my nerve endings were completely blasted and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. The whole cinema seemed to be in shock. Nobody spoke on the way out. I was terrified walking through the cinema car park.
At the end of this film I heard laughter. People had been walking out throughout the film. The room was barely half full to begin with. On the first weekend. At 7pm. On a Saturday night.
Weak.