About the Author
ConservaTibbs
Opinion Archives
E-mail Scott
Scott's Links


Review of Saw 2

By Scott Tibbs, March 1, 2006

Jigsaw is back, but what does he want this time?

In the original "Saw", the serial killer dubbed "Jigsaw" by police went on a rampage of death and destruction. This time, he has kidnapped several people and trapped them in a house, where he designed deathtraps based on the moral failures of his captives. Among his captives is a policeman's son and a young woman named Amanda, who was the only person to survive Jigsaw's first rampage.

All of the captives share something in common. To escape their prison and impending death via poison gas, they have to figure out what they have in common and find the solution to Jigsaw's deadly puzzles. In addition, Jigsaw has a partner. What are the motivations of Jigsaw's partner-in-crime, who is this person, and where is this person?

As was the case last time, the movie has a shock ending. While it is unexpected, the ending makes sense and is consistent with the rest of the plot. There are subtle hints as the movie progresses as to what will happen in the end.

Jigsaw chooses his victims and the traps based on a twisted "moral code" to punish those he feels have not lived a moral life. While the filmmakers may have intended to make Jigsaw a deeper character, he is not at all sympathetic because of his pure vindictiveness and sadism. Even the fact that he is dying of cancer did not bring any sympathy from me, and I am a cancer survivor myself.

While I won't spoil the ending, I will say that it is unfortunate that the bad guy won again. While this leaves the door open for another sequel, it was disappointing to see the villain triumph. Given the way the movie ended, it could have been reworked in such a way to allow for "Saw 3" without letting "Jigsaw" and his partner have another victory. I hope the next movie will end on a less depressing note.

Final grade: B