This is one of my favorite SAW movies. It's one of the bloodiest in the series. By the way, in this one, they say the F word over 80 Time (I tried to count them) It's way better than the first movie, but it would scare most little kids to death. Mid to older teens would LOVE this movie.
Saw II
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Gruesome and explicit -- not for kids.
Why We Rated This 
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Saw II was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Parents need to know that this movie is not for kids. It features gruesome violence, with detailed, explicit imagery of bodies penetrated by sharp implements, shot, burned up, slammed, smashed, punched, kicked, sawed, cut, and dismembered. The movie includes jump scenes and frequent arguments among victims and cops, as well as between the primary cop and the killer, who holds the cop's son hostage. The father and son argue at the beginning of the film, setting the stage for the father's remorse and anger. Characters bleed (lots), vomit, and cough blood. Characters smoke and curse relentlessly; in flashback, one character injects drugs, to demonstrate her addiction. The film also features "extreme" editing, very rough and jaggedy, which in itself may be disturbing for some viewers.
Families Can Talk About
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- Families can talk about the movie's rudimentary efforts to set up the killer's "moralistic" framework. How does Jigsaw judge his victims in order to rationalize his cruelty? How might the father and son have worked out their conflict in a less sensational way? What does the son want from his father? And where is the mother in all this?
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More on Saw II
What’s the Story?
SAW II brings back the serial killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), this time as a self-styled family counselor with terminal cancer. It seems that Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is not paying proper attention to his troubled son Daniel (Erik Knudsen), and so Jigsaw takes a moralistic interest. Eric comes with the usual compromised background: he's been riding a desk since his own coppish corruption was exposed five years ago. Empowered by his deadly illness, Jigsaw gathers together an assortment of Eric's rigged-evidence victims, recently released from prison and puts them in a booby-trapped house with young Daniel. He also arranges to have every room monitored by video camera, the feeds available for viewing by the cops, in Jigsaw's lair.
Is It Any Good?
As before, Jigsaw points out to anyone who will listen that he doesn't actually kill anyone, he just sets up his victims and then offers them "choices." Their icky deaths are their own fault. Such reasoning was the premise of Saw, a surprise hit that recycled hoary psycho killer conventions to extra-splattery effect ("There will be blood"). In SAW II, the repetition is only compounded: Jigsaw is suffering from terminal cancer, which he presumes grants him moral authority: "Those who do not appreciate life do not deserve life."
And as always, Jigsaw ("Call me John," he tells Eric) is chatty in the extreme, explaining his games far beyond the point of interest. He talks at Eric and by tape, he talks at the victims in the house (including Franky G, Glenn Plummer, and the first film's Shawnee Smith, returned for more abuse). None of the players in this game is particularly appealing. But even as the film's focus on sadistic pleasures raises questions about audiences' desire to "watch," it's all retread.
Movie Details
Studio: Lionsgate, Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Run time: 93 minutes
Theatrical release: 10/28/2005, DVD release: 2/14/2006
MPAA Rating: R for grisly violence and gore, terror, language and drug content
Run time: 93 minutes
Theatrical release: 10/28/2005, DVD release: 2/14/2006
MPAA Rating: R for grisly violence and gore, terror, language and drug content
Our Members Say
See 40 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
Two is better than Numbah One
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
middle school aged or older
under 9:freaky nightmares,9-11:little to scary.12-14:a little iffy,15 or older:nothing wrong. well this says the f word at least 20 times and is kinda violent and creepy unlike the 1st.
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
middle school aged or older
under 9:freaky nightmares,9-11:little to scary.12-14:a little iffy,15 or older:nothing wrong. well this says the f word at least 20 times and is kinda violent and creepy unlike the 1st.
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
middle school aged or older
under 9:freaky nightmares,9-11:little to scary.12-14:a little iffy,15 or older:nothing wrong. well this says the f word at least 20 times and is kinda violent and creepy unlike the 1st.
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Eh...movie's not that bad. CSM is over reacting. Interesting, cool movie. Positive role models and messages, educational. Mature 6 year olds and kids 7 and up can watch this.
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