"Saw 2 Is Not As Sharp Or Shocking As Original."

Rating: 6/10 (13 November 2005)

While investigating the bloody aftermath of a grizzly murder, Detective Eric Matthews has the feeling that it is the work of Jigsaw, the notorious killer who disappeared leaving a trail of bodies behind. Jigsaw is indeed back, but instead of two people locked in a room with only one unthinkable way out, there are eight. Eight strangers, unaware of their connection to each other, forced to play out a game that challenges their wits and puts their lives in jeopardy.
James Wan and Leigh Whannell gave us a sharp and unique film last year, which shocked audiences around the world. It also had over-acting, major plot holes and mediocre pacing. Saw II manages to stay away from everything that was flawed with Saw, although, in doing so, it plays it too safe and loses all the shock that it wanted to give us.
Much like the original, you will find some people in impossible situations, which are unique and great to watch. But Saw 2 tries to take it up a notch by putting more people in this situation, the more people you have the more clichés you need to put in. You get the macho guy, the mysterious guy, the pretty girl, the scared girl, the little kid, the one who knows whats going on, and the token black guy.
Unlike the original, where you actually liked the characters, as annoying or over the top they may have been, here you hate them all. You know that most of them, if not all are going to die in some elaborate death, and this keeps us wanting to see more, just so we can watch them die in Jigsaw's house of horrors. Saw 2 focuses more on booby traps then clues for it's players. Even if there were more clues, the people don't care about them, or the director didn't care enough to enlighten us with them.
With these clues, you would expect the people inside to pull together and try to solve this puzzle, instead they all turn on each other. One guy finds out what the first clue was and goes on a killing rampage. It's pretty much the same formula as the first, which makes this saw rusty and dull. The original had many jaws drop to the floor with it's twist ending, and going into Saw 2, you would expect the same. There is a twist, more then one to be precise, which is probably the best thing in this film. Although it never reaches the high-point of the original.
How can a film that has better acting, not as many plot holes and more on Jigsaw, not be as good you might as yourself. It's basically the overall feel of the movie. I got chills throughout the entire first film, here I got one. Without ruining it, I'll just say that when the lights went on, my eyes were wide open with disbelief.
Donnie Whalberg is much better in this film, then Danny Glover was in the first. In this installment, he actually has a reason to be here. Aside from the creepy Tobin Bell, Whalberg actually gives a good performance.Everyone else in the house just plays their characters they way they were written. Scream on cue, cry here, and die there.
Excluding the house and all it's traps, the film only showcases one other Jigsaw predicament. A man with a bear trap on his face, who must cut out his own eye in order to get the key to unlock the contraption. Very cool, but not like the reverse bear trap on the girl's jaw from the original. Why did I like the first so much, well it was cool seeing all those little trap he put people in. That was missing from this one. The traps inside the house had wre impossible to get out of, the people were doomed and you knew it.
Nevertheless, Saw 2 does end with a twist that sets up a possible third installment. Hopefully in the next one, the saw is sharper and the traps are more convincing. If I were ever in a situation with Jigsaw, I would listen to him carefully and follow his every step, I even yelled at the detective to do so. Saw 2 doesn't put to rest the ongoing debate of whether or not Dr. Gordon is alive or dead and it shouldn't, it should be up to interpretation.
Saw 2 was quickly written and directed because it wanted to ride the success of the first and it shows. If time was taken and people who first brought it to us were still involved, Saw 2 could have surpassed the original. The script was written before Saw came out and had nothing to do with it. Once Saw became a hit, a few changes were made and it became Saw 2. So when a script is not written directly for the sequel purpose, you know you're in for trouble.