Saw III
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Movie Reviews of Saw III
Movie Review: HELLLL YEAAAH
Summary: 5 Stars
this movie was awsome, i loved it, its better than the first two, not that they were bad, but this one is a classic....and im planning to see it again, i really enjoyed the ending, and i dont think they will make a fourth, cuz everyone dies at the end....but seriously u should c this movie...Movie Review: Ties everything up so well
Summary: 5 Stars
Saw III ties up everything. The ending was incredible. The movie will make you squirm. 'Nuff said. If you want to know more about the movie, read the other reviews.Movie Review: Another year, another glorious hacking
Summary: 4 Stars
WARNING: This opinionated review contains some spoilers from "Saw" and "Saw II." This review is intended for people who have actually seen the first two movies, and if you haven't, you should be...unless you're the squeamish type.
This is Del Keyes, saying "This is not a stand-alone film."
- REVIEW
"Saw III" marks the final chapter of the series, and by that, I mean the final chapter with James Wan, Leigh Whannell, and Darren Bousman involved with the franchise (Lionsgate does not want the profitable series to end just yet). Because of that acknowledgement, this will be the last time I'm going to blatantly exploit the use of the word "saw", so here it goes. The "Saw" series is a sight to see: it saw the attention it deserves, and it provides many curious horror fans something different to see. It slices, it dices, and it cuts through the meat and bones, among a whole bunch of cheesy saw-related puns I can't even think of.
In all seriousness, the third outing is a surprising improvement over the previous installment, which I personally felt like it was on auto-pilot for the whole movie, keeping it on a steady pace with little outrageous moments. It is nothing like that in this sequel, as it moves away the sporadic law-enforcement scenarios, and centers on what's truly important in the series: Jigsaw and his games. This time, the movie goes behind-the-scenes into the business of his sadistic games.
The sequel acts as a direct continuation of "Saw II" as the movie starts off with Marky Mark's brother stuck in a bad predicament thanks to the Jigsaw. Meanwhile, Dina Meyer's character tries to find him in a series of leads made by Jigsaw's victims. The continuation was all simply to tie up loose-ends (in a "Saw" manner) just so the movie can move along with the confrontation of Jigsaw and his accomplice, Amanda. That's right: the victim of the first two films is The Jigsaw's partner-in-crime/divine intervention.
A nurse named Lynn is captured by the hands of the duo, because The Jigsaw is not exactly at the top of his game, thanks to the malignant tumor in his noggin. In this new game, the nurse must forcibly save the life of the husky-voiced maniac in order to save her own, while another (and Jigsaw's last) game takes place for a different victim following a three-step program to bitter torment. The centered victim of the game is a father sworn for vengeance, and he'll come across paths and choices that will make him question his own principles, and ultimately decide if he achieves the one thing the Jigsaw tries to give to the victims: redemption...along with permanent physical and mental scars.
The sequel furthers the backstory approach of "Saw II" as it sheds (or shreds) some more light into Jigsaw's history, but it also explains the relationship between him and Amanda. Amanda is viewed as a compassionate person who is solely devoted to the killer who she sees as a father figure, so her feelings entices him, yet dreads him at the same time. Without giving too much away, Amanda is a very interesting character for this sequel. Their relationship goes further as the movie shows how some of their infamous games were set up, which the flashbacks ties up a few loose-ends of the series; although, it still doesn't explain about the shock treatments from the first movie. To extend open wounds to the story, Leigh Whannell makes a cameo appearance to explain how his character, Adam, got killed. The only thing that baffles me about the backstory is when it gets into the intimate life of Jigsaw back when he was known as John: it only last for a couple of seconds and it was never explained as if it's an afterthought for some progression with the nurse. Although the sequel didn't completely recovered the rough spots of the canon, at least with it solidifies the connection of the whole Jigsaw business.
Story aside, will there be more blood in the games in "Saw III"? There will be more blood, alright; there will also be more chains, more broken limbs, more screaming, more begging, more spastic camera movements, basically almost every gruesome thing to please the inner sadist. Although the games are not quite the focus this time around, there are plenty of them, and most of them are twisted and inventive, just how Wan/Whannell/Bousman likes it. Some will gross you out, and few will shock you, especially the torture device I like to call "The Twist." Watching the scene with that device makes me think it could've been much more graphic, but that's where uncut DVDs are for.
"Saw III" brought back the things I like from the original, the claustrophobic scenery, the tough-to-decide nature of the games, and the morbid philosophies of Jigsaw's intentions. The sequel brings the pieces together, leading to one impressive climax. To me, this is a satisfying closure to the series.
Movie Review: A Critical Review at the Third, and potentially Final Installment
Summary: 4 Stars
PREMISE:
Jigsaw, althought brilliant in his own right, has a tendancy of causing mayhem. He kidnaps people and puts them in a contraption that either makes them die, or forces them to lose something in order to gain freedom from his clutches. With the help of his new assistant, Amanda, he is able to continue to do his bidding on the lives of seemingly innocent (although we know better) people.
SYNOPSIS:
In the third, and probably final installment, Jigsaw has kidnapped a doctor, who is going through relationship problems and is disconnected with her children and friends. She is now part of Jigsaw's game. With a bomb wrapped around her neck, she must keep Jigsaw alive long enough for Jigsaw's latest player, Jeff, to escape the trenches of his dark past. Jeff must go through a series of rooms so that he can overcome the loss of his son be defying the people that not only caused his son's death, but did nothing to let the murderer rot in a jail cell. Somehow all of these people are related, and in this movie, you find out exactly how.
MENALITY GOING IN:
I did expect a lot. After seeing Saw, I was amazed at the clever writing, brilliant trap design, great acting, and overall erieness of the film. It was grotesque, dark, and fantastic. With an incredibly small budget, the film still managed to make a large bank, enough money in fact to pay for the next two movies. In Saw 2, the writers went in a different direction. They made it seem more like a Ratrace to get to the exit point and overcome the challenges along the way. Like the first movie, every player in the game was somehow connected, and they all had to choose their fate. The second one really made you understand Jigsaw's motives, and what he was trying to accomplish. The message was that you must not take life for granted, and must give up the things we love the most to deserve the right to live. A man of few, but powerful words. With all this prior experience with the film, I was very confident that the third film will live up to the hype, and live up to the Saw petigree.
REVIEW:
This film, at least at the beginning, seemed to try to go back to its roots. It was focusing on single person trying to escape, as opposed to a large group. Continue directly after the last movie, Daniel's father was trapped with a chain on his foot and left for dead. Directly following this trap, you are led to two more victims, in difference scenarios. What makes this dumb is, how they really don't connect to the main story. As things unfold, you are led on an emotional roller coaster, while we see Amanda and Jigsaw's disfunctional relationship fall apart. On his deathbed, Jigsaw is testing Jeff, who recently lost his son, and must face the witness who fled from the scene and could have put the murderer behind bars for life, the judge who let the murderer go, and finally the murderer himself. The traps weren't for him, and if he wanted, he could have let all three of them go. Jigsaw's task was to test his forgiveness, and see if he could finally let the past go and move on with his life. Jeff was obsessed with wanting to find and kill the murderer, and it was starting to distract and tear apart his family. Lynn, the doctor, has a neck brace with explosives set around the edges. If Jigsaw's heartrate flatlines, they explode, and she dies. She is forced to operate on his against his will to postpone his emminent death from his hemorrhaging brain long enough so that Jeff could erase his past. Amanda, who was saved by Jigsaw has been part of Jigsaw's game before. She had to cut a man open in the first one, and was thrown into a pit of syringes in the second one. Without giving too much away, I can say this, each movie had a really surprise ending that made you reevaluate the entire movie and totally threw you for a loop. This one, not so much. Although many of the traps were well executed and brilliant, they lacked the clever enginuity of the first two movies, and although the shock value was higher in this film, the twist at the end just wasn't as unpredictable is in the first two. One thing I did like though, was how the movie focused more one the victims than the on the cops, which is good to see. This makes you really understand the character more, like you have a deep seated relationship with them. Makes their story more effective if they were to die.
BOTTOM LINE:
I'd say that this is the weakest of the three films, but I wasn't entirely disappointed. The movie was still great, and had a few nice touches that made this a welcome edition to the Saw family.
RATING: B (4/5 stars)
Movie Review: Disturbing and squirm-worthy
Summary: 4 Stars
There aren't many movies that can make me grimace and squirm in my seat. Only two movies have ever scared me, and I think that once, perhaps, I jumped a bit in my seat at a part where the rest of the theater gasped or screamed. This is one of those few movies that made me squirm. The gruesome - but not gratuitous - torture scenes are creative and original, and the "special effects", i.e., what they do to make us believe that a guy really is breaking his own foot to be able to get out of shackles is just brilliant.
The inclusion of Amanda's character, and her own private struggles, gives this installment of the Saw trilogy - in my opinion - a stronger story line. Not only are there the "games" we have come to enjoy and expect, there are two psychologically damaged characters (Jigsaw and Amanda) to watch interact and develop.
The plot is fairly straightforward, but we don't realize this until we get to the end. In essence, Jigsaw is dying and he recruits the help of a beautiful young doctor who just happens to be the best in her field. That's the first extension of disbelief the movie demands. The climax asks us to *really* suspend disbelief, as it could not have happened if it weren't for a remarkable coincidence of concurrent events. This didn't do too much to hurt the film, but it certainly would have been nicer to end on a stronger, tighter note.
This is forgivable, because the rest of the film was very logical and things happened in their appropriate sequence.
3.5/5, rounded up to 4.