Missing a few pieces from the puzzle itself, if you were a major fan of the first film, skip this one.

Rating: 4/10 (12 November 2005)

Saw II was one of the few movies I was actually looking forward to seeing this year, and I have to say that I was quite disappointed. Not only was this movie more predictable than the first, but the psychological aspects were dulled down and almost drowned out by needless gore.
This movie is lacking the key elements that made it's predecessor so great: a fresh and original story, well-developed -likable- characters, and a crazy plot twist that you won't see coming. Instead, Saw II features the opposite: an unexcitingly dry story, more than a few too many under-developed characters that make it almost unbearable to watch the story (with Xavier striking a surprising resemblance to Quentin from Cube), and "plot twists" that are too predictable and boring to deserve the title.
I'm not entirely sure if the faults found in this sequel originate from Bousman's "The Desperate" (the movie Saw II was built around) but it sure would be a place to start. The movie begins it's head-first plunge downhill after the opening scene, and ends much lower than a true Saw fan would expect. Saw II is missing a few pieces from the puzzle itself...if you were a major fan of the first film, I'd recommend you skip this one.