 |
| Director
: |
Darren Lynn
Bousman
|
| Starring
: |
Donnie Wahlberg, Beverley
Mitchell, Franky G |
|
| The plot of
Saw II |
The serial killer known as "Jigsaw"
is back, and this time he has eight victims locked
up and forced to play deadly games in order to
stay alive. Detective Eric Mason (Wahlberg), meanwhile,
continues the work of his predecessors as he tries
to break-up Jigsaw's game. |
Saw
II Movie Review
|
Review by ROBERT
KOEHLER:
Cooking up new Rube
Goldberg torture contraptions isn't enough to get "Saw
II" out of the shadow of its unnerving predecessor.
The notion of victims killing themselves while trying
to get free from traps set by an evil genius took "Saw"
beyond cult hit status to $100 million in worldwide
B.O.B.O., but new pic lets the air out by divulging
the startling mystery that concluded the original. Add
this to problematic juggling of police procedural and
group-in-distress storylines, and Lions GateLions Gate
has what looks like a sequel rushed for Halloween. Nonetheless,
fans will pile in and come back for more, followed by
killer ancillary bizbiz.
Pre-title shocker sets the table, with a police informer
(Noam Jenkins) trapped in a grungy room with a venus-flytrap-type
metal device locked around his neck and the key to open
it lodged behind one of his eye sockets. Nasty results
cue that this will be, as pic's promotion insists, bloodier
than before.Knowing the trademark of master sadist Jigsaw
(Tobin Bell), Det. Kerry (Dina Meyer) immediately recognizes
his handiwork when she surveys the informant's horrific
demise, and warns her partner Eric (Donnie Wahlberg)..more..
Review By Edie
Sellers:
Halloween is a horror
fan’s favorite time of the year, but Hollywood
rarely offers us much to get excited about.One recent
exception was 2004’s “Saw.” This messed-up
little mind-freak of a film was heavy on gore and tension.
It thrilled teens as much as it upset overly sensitive
parents.Opening with a barnstorming, squirm-inducing
death, “Saw 2” promises another big payday.
Unfortunately, the only thing “Saw II” actually
delivers is a big letdown. It may have lots of tricks,
but it’s no treat.Psycho-killer Jigsaw (Tobin
Bell) returns with his same sick games — kidnapping
people and putting them in perilous situations in which
they must harm themselves or die horribly. This time,
Jigsaw focuses on one special victim, Detective Eric
Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg), and does so in the most
intimate way.He kidnaps Matthews’ troubled teenage
son, Daniel (Erik Knudsen), and seven other victims
— including Amanda (Shawnee Smith) from the first
“Saw” — and imprisons them in a booby-trapped
house. He gives Matthews two hours to solve the puzzle
before traps or nerve gas kill them all.When you make
a psycho-thriller about deadly puzzles, one should at
least try to make the solutions more difficult than
a game of Zork on the easy setting..More..
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