Saw II is a great follow up to the original film, this is a sequel which could have easily failed. But thanks to a great director in Darren Lynn Bousman, who also wrote the script with the original’s Leigh Whannell, this film is a success. It takes place I assume not long after the first one, it doesn’t mess around and our opening scene is a trap, a nasty trap. The victim here we find out is an informant of police officer Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and ‘Jigsaw’ leaves him a message at the scene. Eric and Kerry (Dina Meyer from the first film) get to investigating, and they soon actually find ‘Jigsaw’ (Tobin Bell). But he is still playing a game as Eric’s son is among a group of people (which includes trap survivor Amanda from the first film) in a house set with traps. They have a visual to the house, as ‘Jigsaw’ is recording, and in order to get his son back ‘Jigsaw’ wants Eric to play his game and follow his rules.
I liked that this sequel tied in with the first one, not only bringing back Tobin Bell as ‘Jigsaw’ but also Dina Meyer and Shawnee Smith. This time around Shawnee Smith’s Amanda has a much bigger role, and much like the first one, there is a puzzle to be put together. I like how they kept the theme of slowly revealing things, and having to put the pieces together. This film goes between ‘Jigsaw’ and Eric, and then the events in the house. I found the interaction between Eric and ‘Jigsaw’ to be one of the strongest parts of the film. While the stuff in the house was interesting, I guess I wasn’t as engaged. We find out a lot more about ‘Jigsaw’ and I think it worked, it seemed like a natural progression from the first film. His motives are made clear, and the real extent of his games are revealed by the end, and this left me shocked. Much like the first film, there is so much going on here then we first might expect. I liked this about both films, and it all comes together nicely with some great twists along the way.
The strong parts of this film were Donnie Wahlberg and Tobin Bell, these two had amazing chemistry together, their scenes were fantastic. Eric was a character that was tough to really feel for, but once his son is put in jeopardy (and it goes from bad to worse), I did feel for him. Donnie is such a great actor, I think he’s so under rated which is unfortunate. Saw II gives him a chance to shine, and he doesn’t miss a beat here. Tobin Bell has crafted something special with ‘Jigsaw’, he is really given a chance to show us who he is. At times his character can be sympathetic, and even his motivations feel justified to a point. He is a smart character, he isn’t just someone who goes around with a mask and slashes his victims. He does have a face here, he has a voice, he has been through a lot, and he gives his victims the choice if they want to live or die (despite the fact the circumstances are awful). He doesn’t see himself as a murderer, and he is convincing. Tobin does such a fantastic job, this man deserves all the credit he gets. Dina Meyer is given a bigger role, and she’s really good. Her face and put through so many emotions, I felt what she felt. Shawnee Smith really delivered the goods, she had a bigger role and again some brutal scenes. She was great, I really felt the pain when she had a bad needle incident. The others in the house were hit and miss, and they were the weaker parts of the film. I thought Erik Knudsen as Daniel (Eric’s son) was pretty solid, I felt for his character, at least I made a connection with someone in the house. Everyone else I didn’t care for, Emmanuelle Vaugier was mostly annoying and she just isn’t that good of an actress. I was surprised to see Glenn Plumber (James from Showgirls) in this as I didn’t remember it was him, he was alright, he did what he could with a plain character. Franky G as Xavier wasn’t terribly good, I found him annoying and a bit of an idiot in the situations he was in. Beverley Mitchell (Lucy from 7th Heaven) just cried a lot and again it was annoying and I didn’t care what happened to her.
This film had a smart script to work off for the most part, while the house stuff was weaker, at least the traps where inventive and nasty. Some of them had me squeamish (on both watches), and I certainly wouldn’t want to have been put into that situation. The film is its strongest when it deals with Eric and ‘Jigsaw’, those were definitely the meat of the film. Once things start to get worse and time runs out, the film picks up pace and it is exciting. Things unravel in unexpected ways, and it all makes sense and it does tie in with the first film really well. I couldn’t help but think the cops were a bit on the stupid side, considering the events of the first film. That was a weak point for me, but I could see past that quite well to enjoy the film as a whole. Again this one had great sets, the house looked great and creepy. ‘Jigsaw’s set up was really impressive, as was the room with the monitor’s on it. The film had some sharp and smart dialogue, and again clue’s were placed as to what was really going on, and how things might play out. A great companion piece to Saw, I highly recommend this one too. Watch Saw and Saw II back to back, it works fantastically. Even better watch it with Saw III, and enjoy a solid trilogy.
Saw II was part of my Horror Films For October, you can find the entire list here.
The Super Network 