Review: ‘Saw III’
Remember how the sequel to Saw lost the focus of the first one? The third seems to have found it again.
John, aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is in worse shape than when we saw him last (as if that were possible). With his protege Amanda (Shawnee Smith) still at his side, he recruits Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) and gives her a task: keep him alive until someone else completes a task of their own. The person Lynn must wait for, Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), seems to be on a collision course with the person responsible for the untimely death of his child. This time, however, the cops won’t be beating down the doors at the last possible minute because no one has told them what’s going on…
Leave it to Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures to deliver the goods a third time while still perfecting their craft. Along with the Final Destination series, only Saw can boast being a current, low-budget horror franchise that consistently makes more money with each subsequent sequel. Is anyone really surprised they’ve already announced a fourth film due for next Halloween? And don’t ask us what it’s going to be about, because only a few clues manage to survive this installment.
Along with the usual mind games and plots within plots, the other guilty pleasure of Saw are some of the most elaborate devices of torture since the Spanish Inquisition. It’s always fun to walk into a room with a character and experience the feeling of “What the heck is that supposed to do?” followed by the sinking feeling of “Oh my God” when Jigsaw reveals what it is. Unlike Saw II, which had a group of people haphazardly walking through a house randomly pulling and pushing things like adventurers on a dungeon crawl, Saw III is more focused, giving a man in anguish the opportunity to allow others to die for his own satisfaction.
The makers of Saw III earn your business not only for seeing the error of their ways in going too far in the last film. They demonstrate a genuine integrity for their series by reigning the story back in to its original core elements and even manage to explain a few things missing from the previous two films. Flashbacks provide new characters of interest as do a few obviously placed clues, so the filmmakers were very aware that the series can and must continue. As before, nothing here is for the faint of heart and the film wallows in its R-rating like a corrupt judge drowning in maggot-infested pig sludge. Fans of Saw will not be disappointed.
(a three and a half skull recommendation out of four)
» Dig around in these buried remains...
- Review: ‘Saw VI’ 10/25/2009
- Review: ‘Saw V’ 10/26/2008
- “Saw” Mill Still Grinding 2/20/2007
- Review: Saw II 10/30/2005
- Review: ‘Saw IV’ 12/26/2007
- Saw III Announced 11/7/2005
- Dr. Boll Strikes Again With Metal Gear Solid 1/6/2006
November 15th, 2006 at 2:33 am
ok, i’m a HUGE fan of the Saw trilogy, but it really needs to STAY at a trilogy. Even though it leads into another movie, how is it gonna possibly size up to the previous 3? Jigsaw is dead, and nobody we know of is taking his place. I don’t want to see Saw turn into an idea gone overkill. I’m satisfied with how they are now, any more movies will just butcher this genius idea of a storyline.
November 16th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Ah, but you missed the new (dare I say “mystery”?) woman on the tape Jigsaw recalled, plus the “play me” cassette he sealed in wax on the table before he died. I’ll bet ya there were a few more clues, too, for the cleverer wactchers out there.
December 20th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
[...] Vanavond gekozen voor een avondje horror/huiver in de cinema… Jaja – SAWIII – gezien en goedgekeurd… Had mij vooraf al een beetje laten inspireren door de reviews of others… En dan wetende dat die van RottenTomatoes.com meestal echt NOOIT met mij overeenkomen op dat vlak, wistk dus dat die paar goeie comments dattie kreeg er waarschijnlijk vlak op zaten… Take for example this: The makers… demonstrate a genuine integrity for their series by reigning the story back in to its original core elements… Fans of Saw will not be disappointed. — Kevin A. Ranson – MovieCrypt.com If you found Hannibal’s brain cooking scene a tad too much, you will want to avoid Saw III; but if you are a fan of the gory versions of horror, this will be an iconic essential. — Urban Cinefile [...]
December 27th, 2006 at 6:00 am
I believe that’s Dutch, if anyone wants to run it through Babelfish!