See Saw with Alex, Day 2: Saw II

Yeah, I think the inventivness starts to slip in this one, but gains traction again in the upcoming sequels. I remember sitting in the theater for Saw II and sorta liked the plot twist with Shawnee's character, but really thought the acting was awful from the rest of them. The cops did okay I guess. Saw III was a big letdown for me. Saw IV was more enjoyable than 2-3 for me..

Oct 16 - 06:18 PM

A Z

Its all downhill from here Alex.

Oct 16 - 06:37 PM

Jared King

I saw a little of this. It's about the same as the first, just, minus the original feel. In short, meh. I skipped Saw III and saw Saw IV...heh heh, I saw Saw, that's funny...not really.

Oct 16 - 06:56 PM

joseph rivera

i prefer saw 2 over 1. i like 1 also even though the guy who is in the room with gordon is possibly the most annoying man on the face of the earth.

saw 3 is pretty good but it drags in some spots. kinda was worn out from saw after that so i never got around to 4 or 5 or 893

Oct 16 - 08:14 PM

Nick Smith

In reply to cowbell, I agree that Saw 2 was better than the first. It looked better visually than the first and the twist was better. I wasn't a fan of Saw 1 when it came out, I felt like the twist was something out of an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It was hyped up so much and I was dissapointed. Watching it again I knew what to expect so I think I was enable to enjoy it a little more. I recently watched 1-5 back to back and I think the Saw franchise would have worked more effectively as a TV miniseries than movies. They feel more like television, the acting is subpar, the directing and writing is effective but not really anything special. I think it would have been received better as a miniseries also. As of now I have to admit that I enjoyed all of them except #4. 4 was bad. I was expecting 5 to be terrible, but I was pleasantly surprised. I find that most people who talk sh*t about the franchise hasn't actually seen most of the movie. They catogorize them as torture porn and dismiss them. While there is a good bit of torture porn in the movies, there is also some depth. Jigsaw is a complicated character with complicated motivations. When compared to other torture movies like Hostel and House of 1000 Corpses or the slew of horror remakes and sequels, Saw stands a step above.

Oct 19 - 09:15 AM

Squalid Jessop

I've reached the point where I honestly don't know if any movie will ever scare me ever again. Which is kinda scary, really.

Oct 16 - 08:33 PM

Daniel Raimondi

5 consecutive years of Saw lol

Oct 16 - 09:10 PM

Park Mohler

Saw II is my favorite of the Saw flicks. But as that dude before me said, it's all downhill from here Alex. Get ready for a bunch of stinkers.

Oct 16 - 10:16 PM

Jason DAlberti

I thought this was one of the worst ones(i haven't seen 4). Though I agree the twisted at the end was a good one the rest of the movie was terrible. The acting was ugly (yes, I agree Cary Elwes was bad in Saw) and some of the characters were just wasteful. I thought they could have developed it more and had a chance for a good horror trilogy instead of a cheap typical one. That being said, I do enjoy some of the saws for the traps, props and effects and appreciate the hard work that goes into the prosthetics(sp). I just think the 2nd one is the weakest in the series.

Oct 16 - 10:19 PM

Christopher Runyon

The first Saw will always be the best one. The second one was mediocre, the third one, though an improvement of the second one, was still mediocre. However, the 4th and 5th one (Especially the fifth one) fricken ruined the series completely by convoluting the plot so terribly that it makes less sense than all of the seasons of LOST and X-Files combined. The 6th may have the chance to redeem itself since it's not directed by the same guy who did 5, but still, the first one is the absolute best one.

Oct 16 - 10:22 PM

Rollan Schott

I laughed all the way through Saw II. That was before i grew bored with the pathetic formula and eventually offended by America's reprehensibly bad taste. These movies are below criticism, not that that matters. Fans won't listen to criticism anyway. I always find it baffling that people come to Rotten Tomatoes to discuss the Saw series. Yes, Rotten Tomatoes, where every critic obliterates the very movie they came to discuss. Kinda funny, really, like Saw II.

Oct 16 - 10:24 PM

Brian Rokosz

The Eric Mathews beat down at the end was amazing...then he stops for a few seconds just to snap Jigsaw's finger....when Jigsaw says "G..game...game over..." in that weak, old man help me voice i was like heeellllll ya you got ur *** beat!!!! I saw the Amanda twist early, right as she found the tape and was like "everything u need to know is on this tape", but the "safe place" twist and Mathews being in the right house and the entire SWAT team finding out they were watching a tape...wheeewww, that rocked my socks...I thought the main twists and all the little ones like "woooaaahh, its the same bathroom!" were great....watching SAW 3 after this is going to feel a little "so what?" ish...but that all changed for me after watching 4, which is still my favorite.

Oct 16 - 11:30 PM

Brian Rokosz

response to cowbell....that other guy is actually Leigh Whannell (sp?)...one of the creators of SAW, the part-director, writer, and while he's a horrible actor, ya gotta admit the dude is great at twists...but ya, ur right, he should never act again......I thought Xavier was the most annoying in this one, but the black guy from Showgirls sucked too...the chick from 7th Heaven was one of the best of the house victims which says something about the acting quality...

Oct 16 - 11:39 PM

That Guy

This was the last Saw movie I saw, and the one where I really stopped caring. Like I said about the first one, seeing people die horribly isn't interesting and doesn't scare. It's typical sequel fare, feeling like more of the same. Though this twist was infinitely more interesting than the last one.

Oct 17 - 12:19 AM

Arthur Grego

Excellent article, Alex. You do a good job of fleshing out what is really good about this series (some would argue that NOTHING is good about this series, but whatever). I will disagree with you about your favorite trap, though. The needle pit is my second favorite, but my personal favorite is when the girl gets her hands stuck in the glass box. It's so simple, yet so effective. Not to mention that watching people cut their wrists is the only thing that makes me cringe nowadays!

Oct 17 - 08:01 AM

David Blandino

This is the only Saw I dig. I mean it's ok. Really dislike the first, and the other ones... it's funny... I swear I've seen them (except V) but I just don't remember anything about the plot, just images and the feeling of being deeply uninvolved with them. Can't say what killings belong to what movie. Looking foward for the next entry to see if I can make any sense of it all.

Oct 17 - 08:05 AM

Gordon Terry

I will never get old or become too grown-up to be afraid:
The last time was FINAL DESTINATION I saw for the first time two years ago.

and MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D I saw last year.

never grow old.

play video games or whatever you always used to do as a kid that you love and you'll never grow up.

actually; I think its just me.

(you'll still have had undergone ALL the life experience of almost 40 years BUT . . .you can still be made afraid of the dark though---stay young by being young (for me its videogames [emulators and my sons games] for someone else it may be basketball or Ice Cream or comic books or dungeons and dragons)

stay young..

Oct 17 - 10:46 AM

Colyn Bowman

I really enjoyed SAW 1, 2 and 3 I think it was, but last years SAW 4? I dunno it was awful as hell. Hopefully, this year will recapture the magic the first couple entries had.

Oct 17 - 01:10 PM

Numna Stingdoo

Colyn, wasn't last year Saw V?

Anyway, these just sound stupider than the first one. It's not like the premise of these movies was very original (it ripped off a videogame that no one really played), but they just continue the same thing for the sequel. It also sounds bad that everything is less inventive, meaning that the first one really is the best. I guess if you hate the first, this series will never work for you.

I can see your final conclusion, though. It probably would be hell to watch 5 horror movies in a row and be terrified of each. But that just gives me proof that these movies aren't horror, just torture porn.

Oct 17 - 02:41 PM

Colin Hay

I liked this entry. My initial reaction was that it was better than the first, and I still feel that the plot is more engaging and thoughtful, and Donnie Wahlberg's character is much more likable than anybody in the first movie, but the absolutely rotten acting in all the house scenes just kills it for me now. There was a major decline in cast quality from the first to second movies. I think of all the movies I've ever seen, this one has the biggest entertainment drop-off from first viewing to second (and any subsequent) viewings. The plot twists are awesome, but once you know what's coming, the major source of entertainment is disipated, and there's not much to do but slog through the D-grade performances in all the house scenes. It's still one of the better entries, but I put it behind the first because at least the first was a well made movie in general and stands up to repeated viewings, even when the twist isn't a twist anymore.

Oct 17 - 02:59 PM