Not nearly as exciting as the first Saw.

Rating: 6/10 (28 October 2005)

If you go into Saw II expecting to relive the excitement that the first one brought on, it won't happen. I guess I went into the theater with the wrong attitude - and perhaps I expected too much. But Saw was a diamond in the rough of contemporary horror films.
The beauty of the original Saw was the opening sequence. Knowing as much as the characters in the movie know is what made it that much more frightening and intense. Where are these people? Why are they locked in a gritty bathroom stall? This technique is something that really set the tone for the rest of the film. Saw II has none of this.
Saw II opens with a gristly scene that is sure to get the audience going, and it seemed to work fairly well. Unfortunately, the dialogue and acting that follows throughout the rest of the film suffers greatly. Being eased into the father/son relationship was somewhat painful to watch, and a few people in the sold-out show laughed at some of the commends made on- screen by the father.
I was also annoyed at the writer's choice to keep 3/4 of the film within a house. I understand the fact that they have to take a step forward from the original, which I remind you was generally kept within a small room, but it just feels like they opted for the house to fit more victims into it - and therefore, to please the audience with more death. Why do sequels always have to involve MORE? I couldn't help but think that they only reason they do is to rake in the cash from the success of the first, and that's exactly what Saw II does.
I was also bothered by something else which other film buffs probably noticed as well. The three girls cater to a fairly wide range of men's taste. We have the slut wearing a thin shirt and no bra, with large doe-like eyes and a fairly well-fed ego. There's the cute and somehow sexy girlfriend who squeezes her breasts together for your viewing pleasure. And there's the messy-haired large-breasted drug addict from the previous film, showing off a bit of mid- drift and some chest bounce, again for the viewer's pleasure. For the girls, they throw in the "adorable" shy-but-not-incapable son, the rippling (if half-insane) Latino, and a black man who manages to avoid the common Hollywood curse of dying first. Obviously I picked up on the idea that they were desperately trying to connect the audience to these stars in more of a visual way than an acting way.
Anyway, without spoiling the ending, you'll either love it or hate it. I hated it. Either way, you'll come away from Saw II knowing that it satisfied your lust for blood and maybe some female (or male) eye candy, and that is really Saw II's only saving grace. I gave it a 6/10, and I gave the original Saw a 9/10.