Starring:Tobin Bell, Lyriq Bent, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Athena Karkanis, Justin Loius, Donnie Wahlberg
Director:
Darren Lynn Bousman (Identity Lost, Saw II)
MPAA Rating:
R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture throughout, and for language.
Release Date:
October 2007
Synopsis:
Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers arrive to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.
My Two Cents:
Another week, another Saw movie. It seems like it was yesterday that I saw the first one and we’re already at part four, with part five coming this October. They’re milking the hell out of this, but at least they’re still coming up with neat ideas and plot twists. On the down side, as interesting as those plot twists are, things can get a little crazy with so many characters. You might need a degree in sawology to decipher who’s who and why this or that makes any sense.
You cannot enjoy any Saw movie without watching them all. There’s no way to follow the story or the character’s motives. I’m assuming you’ve watched them all leading up to part four, but even then you might not know what the hell is going on. It’s tradition to screw you at the end with a mind-shattering plot twist, but it’s just getting out of hand now. If a character doesn’t get cut in half or decapitated on-screen he or she could and probably will come back for a sequel, so try your best to remember each character’s name and face. On top of that, Saw IV and Saw III happen simultaneously. While Saw III focused on Jeff Reinhart trying to save his daughter and wife, Jigsaw had already planned a very elaborate trap for Lieutenant Rigg and had already chosen a replacement for Amanda. Saw IV actually starts at the end, letting you know what will happen in the inevitable Saw V, but then walks you through the events leading up to the starting scene. What? I know.
Ignoring all that chronological madness, I’ll say I fully enjoyed Saw IV as much as any other. The traps are less shocking, but that could be because we’ve already seen so many good ones. It’s great that Jigsaw’s death did not stop him from tormenting his victims. Here we learn that being diagnosed with terminal cancer wasn’t the only reason that sent John Kramer on a killing spree, if you can call it that. More about his past is told through flashbacks, leading to his very first “murder”.
I will not spoil the fun of finding out who lives and who dies. Go watch Saw III again before watching part IV or you’ll be kind of lost. If you’ve stayed with the series so far there’s no reason to skip Saw IV, and then look forward to Saw V and beyond.
Score:
3 Comments:
The first movie was good, I thought. It was....different, and I didn't necessarily consider it to be just a 'horror' movie. It actually seemed like more of a crime movie to me. I liked that, especially as I don't care for 'horror' movies, especially of the 'slasher' variety.
Then I saw Saw II. It was awful. It had no point. It was going back to being a stereotypical slasher horror movie; it even had 'young people' (well, relatively) all trapped somewhere together and they had to find a way to get out before they all died. Or rather, the way it was set up, most of them were going to die anyway. Boring. And I didn't think it was interesting at all that Amanda became the 'apprentice'. ZZzzz....
I guess all the movies do have clever traps, and well...that's what's so disturbing about it two-fold; that they are clever and disturbing, but also, the writers thought of these traps themselves. That in itself is...kind of bothersome.
I did like seeing the backstory (or part of it) of John Kramer in Saw II. In fact, Tobin Bell is the ONLY reason I would watch any more of these movies. He's...just so awesome. I think it's kind of bad for me that more of it is in Saw IV because...I don't really want to watch it.
I did catch some of Saw III this weekend and...I feel similarly to how I felt about Saw Il; pointless, and just more slasher stuff. And...more disturbing traps. God...just....stop it. You people are nasty for making this stuff...I did like the twist at the end. That is the one thing about these movies; always a twist at the end.
So, I don't know...I feel the first movie is really the only one that has any real merit. I don't know when, if ever, I'll see Saw IV, or...the rest of Saw III. I'm in no hurry.
It's also interesting that this movie has been an annual tradition now; there is a new one of these things every year now, and I guess they'll do it until a least Saw VI. They are definitely milking this far too much; that's just too much. I think it's completely ridiculous now.
Only one person I've talked to liked Saw II as much as me. When I watch any Saw movie I know pretty much everyone will get killed. The fun part is watching how it happens. I loved the needle pit and that Donnie Wahlberg's kid was inside a safe just a few feet away from him the whole time. And yes, Tobin Bell is awesome. He looked like a very old and crippled Rocky Balboa in that hood. Saw II’s budget was around $4 million and it grossed $147 millions worldwide. Not bad for an awful movie. All four films combined have made over $530 millions, so the milking won't stop any time soon.
You probably won't care much about it, but Saw IV not only gives you more insight into Jigsaw's past and motives, but also about Billy the Puppet's "birth". Saw V is supposed to reveal even more about Billy's origin, right down to his little tricycle. How charming!
Well, I liked seeing John Kramer's backstory. If anything, I'd watch Saw IV to see anything involving that, but I know there won't be anything else good in it.
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