Post by Mr.HoRrOr on Nov 4, 2005 19:30:51 GMT -5
Plot:While investigating the bloody aftermath of a grizzly murder, Detective Eric Mason (Donnie Wahlberg) has the feeling that it is the work of Jigsaw, the notorious killer who disappeared leaving a trail of bodies,and parts behind, and Mason is right.
Jigsaw is at work again. 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.
Cast:
Shawnee Smith
Tobin Bell
Emmanuelle Vaugier
Donnie Wahlberg
Franky G.
Glenn Plummer
Beverley Mitchell
Eric Knudsen
Dina Meyer
My Thoughts:Beats "Saw".
Review:Going into "Saw 2" I expected it to be better than the original but it far exceeds "Saw" even more than I expected it to. "Saw 2" begins much like the original when another victim finds himself caught up in one of Jigsaws traps,and his road to freedom is a hard one.The opening scene of "Saw 2" sets the tone perfectly for how the sequel plays itself out.Much more intensity,much more action,more intricate traps,and a much large overall game.This time a police officer named Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is Jigsaws target and his son along with a group of strangers find themselves trapped in an abandoned house and in usual Jigsaw fashion,clues on pieces of paper,tape recorders,and wall scribblings are strolled about the house.If they want to survive,they have to follow the clues but time is of the essence as they have been infected with a deadly nerve agent which gives them all only a few hours to live.Actually in this film this nerve agent is ripped from the headlines when Jigsaw mentions that it was the same poison used in the Tokyo subway incident which was a real life incident that actually happened not too long ago.To make the game more interesting hes placed several antidotes around the house,but which also come with a price.This puts officer Matthews in a bad position since Jigsaw is the only one who knows the location of the house will only give up that location if Erik "chats" with him for a bit."Saw 2" shows itself to be much smarter than it's predecessor which in itself is a hard thing to do and it clears up the one weak spot the original had by introducing a wide range of characters, as well as returning escaped junkie Samantha (Shawnee Smith) who wakes up in this locked house with the others.It also goes for shoick value with a few early scenes one of which being a particularly nasty one involving a gun hidden behind a wall."Saw 2" shifts back and forth from detective Matthews and Jigsaw to the tv screens which show the events transpiring in the mystery house.This keeps the film entertaining on two levels,intellectual,and visual.We get some nastiness happening in the house with people crawling through pits full of needles or getting roasted alive in furnaces,and then return to Jigsaw and detective matthews interesting dialogue which of course we know is all part of jigsaws overall scheme.The overall game gets more intriguing minute by minute as some fall victim to jigsaws traps while revelations about everyone in the house and what they all have in common begin to come out.The overall human survival instinct is also explored when the virus starts to cause physical breakdowns in the houses inhabitants which causes one person to go to desperate and murderous lengths to survive. When Jigsaw is first shown on screen without his cloak,you can connect the dots and figure out why the game in this particular film is much more precise,lethal,and intricate than the game between the doctor and Adam was mapped out to be. The end reveal is a blockbuster which makes perfect sense and everything taking place in the film keeps it from being too obvious although when you rewind the film in your head you'll think to yourself *why didn't I see it sooner?* It also sets up "Saw 3" perfectly and even ties up that one pesky loose end from "Saw" nicely.
Pros:Great deaths,smart plot,fitting end and third movie set up.Shawnee Smith is relegated to a minor character as the perfect plan for her to shine later in the movie.Brilliant.Tobin Bell plays Jigsaw brilliantly once again.
Cons:Like in most horror movies,some characters died that I wish had survived instead.
Overall:A sequel that takes what the first film did,and builds on it nicely while adding in some nice twists and turns along the way which create the perfect ending.