There will be Blood

Rating: 9/10 (18 April 2007)

Jigsaw is back and this time he has 8 people locked in a house full of traps and only a few hours to live and it's up to Detective Matthews to save them as one of the unlucky 8 people is his son.
I absolutely loved the first Saw it was brilliant and very original and I'll be the first to admit that when I heard that a sequel was being prepped to be released only one year after the original I thought that it was gonna be bad but gladly I was wrong. SAW II was a relentless, enthusiastically directed and twisted little gem. Just like any other good film, this continuation had a powerful weapon in its holster, one that Hollywood so often forgets to bring to the table when creating their "products" and that's a strong screenplay. The bases were mostly covered in that department with riveting chain of events, a clever puzzle like nature when it came to its mind toying mystery, some heart (the Matthews ordeal) and a near flawless juggling act in terms of the two main plot lines which were steamrolled forward simultaneously. To make matters much better. Now being that this is a sequel, some of what made the original special was lost in the name of not fully repeating the first film while new goodies were gained. I particularly loved the "Hannibal Lecter/Clarice" like mental warfare Jigsaw and Matthews shared. It made for a compelling listen/watch, was the soul of the film while acting as an interesting contrast to the more action oriented "in the house" shenanigans. The further exploration of my fave Bath Robe wearing killer's psyche worked really well! Although I craved more info (I still don't know why Jigsaw is so freaking nuts!), the added insight was appreciated and went to prove me wrong. Knowing more about the lad didn't make him less scary. I think I fear him more now! Donnie Wahlberg (Det. Matthews) played it smart; he underplayed it while displaying an endearing mix of toughness and vulnerability. Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) was very much focused and controlled as Jigsaw Dina Meyer (Kerry) did what she had to do adequately most of the time, although I didn't buy a couple of her "reaction shots" and wished she'd do more than stare at PC screens. Shawnee Smith (Amanda) was bang on in her role; selling it to the max. I'm so happy they brought her back and gave her more to do.
All in all I really enjoyed this movie much better than the first.