I want to play a game...again (Saw II (DVD))

Member Name: hewhoisme

Product:	Saw II (DVD)
Date:	02/09/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's gory

Disadvantages: The fact it was created

In 2004 Saw was released, an entertaining and surprisingly enjoyable cat and mouse serial killer flick by Lionsgate (not the cheery Bratz: the Movie version of Lionsgate, but the distressed metal 'we own your soul' version of Lionsgate), which received generally positive reviews. Unfortunately Lionsgate, being run by a group of archetypal Hollywood idiots, didn't see a popular stand alone film, but a rather a never-ending franchise and an equally never-ending source of money. This film marks the beginning, the beginning of one of the most ridiculous and intentionally hilarious horror franchises since Friday the 13th 6000 was released.

Saw 2 takes off shortly after the events of Saw, with bent cop Eric Matthews hot on the trail of the Jigsaw, who is hiding out in a suitably grimy warehouse. Eventually the cops catch up with Mr Saw, chilling out in an incredibly fetching boxer's robe, only to find that he's trapped eight people in a gigantic death trap saturated with nerve gas, one of which happens to be Matthew's delinquent son. Apparently Jigsaw believes that bent cops are bad, and should be punished by kidnapping their relatively innocent offspring, which of course is completely right and in no way stupid. He also seems to believe that embezzlement and kleptomania are justifiable reasons for an agonising death, an opinion which becomes even more marked as the series progresses. The majority of the film focuses around Jigsaw and Matthews having several deep 'what does it all mean' conversations, whilst the hapless victims get picked off by a variety of worryingly inventive traps, all while finding the time to argue and backstab each other like it's a Big Brother Serial Killer Special. It ends predictably with yet another mind mangling twist, and leaves you wondering what on Earth was the point, and what Jigsaw, if anything, was trying to prove.

In comparison to the first Saw, which I actually enjoyed, the sequel is just a 93 minute excuse to slice up a series of lazily written characters in increasingly impractical ways. Whilst the first film had a reasonably sturdy plot, it rapidly disintegrates when it's forced to stretch across it's successor, and so many plot holes open up it's a miracle the entire film doesn't divide by zero, and disappear in a puff of anti-logic. Ignoring Jigsaws hopelessly drawn out MO, it soon becomes apparent that the maniac genius described in the first movie is actually a deranged engineer with the moral perspective of a sociopathic hyena, and is about as charismatic as moss-covered house brick. He's not an anti-hero, and he isn't a villain. He's just an idiot.

Saw 2 has only one thing going for it: it's gory. The acting is debatable, and the plot is so fragile you could shatter it just by breathing, but on the other hand it's perfect if you like watching thoroughly sleazy people being burned alive. This film pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the series, as the plot becomes gradually more hypothetical, the gore factor rises exponentially, until the entire franchise is minute after minute of high budget butchery. Don't get me wrong, I like a nice bit of gore as much as the next man, I just annoyed when they try to make a seven film epic from it.

Summary: The beginning of the end...in another five films.