| Overall Grade: |
A- |
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| Story: |
A- |
|
|
| Acting: |
B- |
|
|
| Direction: |
B+ |
|
|
| Visuals: |
A- |
|
|
A Very Honest, USEFUL Review of Saw 4
by TRU C (movies profile)
Jul 12, 2008
133
of
140 people found this review helpful
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Short Commentary on other yahoo reviews of Saw 4
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In reading all of the other reviews, the main thing you need to know before you see this movie is that the whole series is a "package deal", just like a television sitcom, or a trilogy. That being said, you can't just judge ANY one single movie in this series on its' own. You have to accept this as an ongoing story with only one beginning and one end, rather than a series of beginnings and endings.
So to say "Saw 1 was better than Saw 4" or vice versa isn't the way it was meant to be judged because technically this is just one long, ongoing movie broken up into 7 parts. Therefore, it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY that you brush up on Saw 1, Saw 2 and Saw 3 before you even think of seeing Saw 4. Even if you've seen all of them 3 times, it would still serve you some good to go into Saw 4 with the most accurate recollection of details possible.. Because if not, you will be confused. Little intricate details are of the utmost importance.
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On to my review of the movie itself:
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I think any movie that makes you think deserves praise in some way, shape or form. With that being said, I can't think of my other series that makes my brain jog in the way the Saw series does.
Saw 4 is completely dependent on the events of Saw 3, and the two stories are interwoven beautifully. In fact, I'm convinced to some degree that all of these sequels were premeditated after Saw 1, or even possibly were planned this way from the beginning.
The visuals in Saw 4 are 100% better than that of any of the previous ones. The whole movie really is candy for the eyes.
The acting could have been a little better, but by the very nature of the genre of movie we're dealing with here we're not going to nor should we expect any oscar worthy performances. The acting is good enough to serve the purpose of the movie and telling the story of Jigsaw.
As far as the actual plot, what more is there to say other than another piece of the puzzle is complete. The creators have made it very clear from the start that there are going to be at least 6-7 of these so naturally we're going to have lots of questions answered and unanswered as each one takes place. Saw 4 does a good job at providing background into what makes Jigsaw tick, and the events that led up to his first victim. Saw 4 is could be considered half a prequel, and half a resolution to Saw 3. And even at that, it only halfway resolves Saw 3. Don't go into this movie thinking that every single question will be answered, and that you will totally understand everything. There are stones purposely left unturned that will be answered later on in the series.
Saw 4 does what it was intended to do: answer some questions to clear up SOME confusion, and raise more questions so that we can come closer to a full understanding of the story.
The traps in Saw 4 weren't as gory as those in Saw 3, but I think that's a good thing because Saw 3 was hard to stomach in that department. It was gory enough to remind you that it's halloween, but not so gory that it makes you nauseous. So in other words, a perfect amount of gore.
Last but not least, the ending. I wont spoil anything, don't worry but I just want to say that you shouldn't get too wrapped up in expecting to be blown out of your seat with an unbelievable plot twist EVERY SINGLE TIME like you were in Saw 1. The twist IS surprising, and IS very critical to the series. In fact, in hind sight Saw 4's ending is probably the second most important ending other than Saw 1 - however it's not something that any fan of the series couldn't have seen coming if they had been playing close attention.
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Conclusion
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You shouldn't see this movie if you haven't seen Saw 1-3. The story is too developed and too much information is needed in order to fully follow what's going on. You either like Saw, or you don't. If you're interested in seeing 4 but haven't seen any other Saws - go out and rent Saw 1. If you find it interesting (which most people do) then rent Saw 2 and Saw 3. Once you're all caught up, it will be much more rewarding for you as this movie delivers as promised. |
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