Saw II

Saw II is a 2005 American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, written by Bousman and Leigh Whannell from a story by Bousman. It's the sequel to Saw. It stars Donnie Wahlberg, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Beverley Mitchell, Dina Meyer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Erik Knudsen, Shawnee Smith and Tobin Bell.

Plot
Eric Matthews, a sleazy police detective, is tasked with helping his department to capture the mysterious serial killer best known by Jigsaw. Meanwhile, a group of ex-convicts are forced to play one of Jigsaw's "games" inside a house and pass deadly tests so they can escape and survive.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The story is intriguing and full of suspense.
 * 2) Good acting, especially from Donnie Wahlberg and Tobin Bell.
 * 3) Darren Lynn Bousman has good directing skills, and let's consider this film was his directorial debut.
 * 4) The film's non-linear narrative plays off perfectly like in the first film, being less confusing but more deceptive.
 * 5) Amanda Young, a minor character from the first film, returns here in a much larger role.
 * 6) It contains and focuses on much more characters than the first film, which mainly focused on two guys.
 * 7) The worldbuilding is impressive.
 * 8) Jigsaw's new traps are still creative and realistic, being the Needle Trap the most memorable.
 * 9) Unlike the original film, the Jigsaw Killer's motivation and backstory are basically explored and explained here in a satisfactory way, showing us what situation led him to adopt his radical philosophies.
 * 10) Well-written dialogue, especially that of Bell.
 * 11) The film's pacing is perfect.
 * 12) The film's quality may be even better to the first film as it counted with a larger budget.
 * 13) There are some references to the first film, like the location of the Bathroom.
 * 14) Like the first film, it contains an amazing plot twist at the end, which reveals that Amanda Young was Jigsaw's accomplice all along.
 * 15) Amazing soundtrack by Charlie Clouser.
 * 16) "Those who don't appreciate life do not deserve life"

Bad Qualities

 * 1) It can come off as unnecessary, as the first film didn't necessarily leave any cliffhangers, but it's still a decent continuation to the story set in the first film.
 * 2) Jigsaw can seem a bit delighted at some points, which can leave one confused or with a bad taste in the mouth, as this can crash with his supposed desire to help people appreciate life.

Critical response
Critical reception to Saw II was mixed to negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 37%, based on 122 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Saw II is likely to please the gore-happy fans of the original, though it may be too gruesome for those not familiar with first film's premise". On Metacritic, it received a score of 40 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Some even questioned if the film was necessary, because the original Saw didn't necessarily set up a sequel, as this film was just greenlighted because the original was a box office success.

However, the film is considered among audiences as a good if not better sequel to the first film mainly for allowing Tobin Bell's Jigsaw character to be more fleshed out and establish himself as one of the most complex horror film villains of all time and expanding what started as a stand-alone horror film into a popular horror franchise.

Box office
Like its predecessor, the movie was a box office success, as it earned $147.7 million worlwide against a production budget of $4 million.

Trivia

 * Originally, this film wasn't meant to be a sequel to Saw but an original film called The Desperate, an X/R-rated horror film written by Darren Lynn Bousman. However, when Bousman tried to sell his script, it was around the same time Saw premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and most studios found it too similar to Saw. A German film studio approached Bousman to do the film, but Saw producer Gregg Hoffman discovered his script and felt that rewritten, it could serve as a sequel to Saw. Once hired, Bousman was aided by Leigh Whannell to adapt and rewrite his script into a continuation of Saw.
 * This was the last film produced by Gregg Hoffman. Hoffman unnexpectedly passed away two months after the film's release. Saw III was later dedicated to his memory and the character of Mark Hoffman was named after him.