| Overall Grade: |
B |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
B- |
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| Direction: |
B- |
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| Visuals: |
A |
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Not really disappointing, could've been better...
by Bill (movies profile)
Oct 25, 2008
32
of
36 people found this review helpful
As a true Saw fan, I can't say I'm totally disappointed, but I do believe this movie had a TON of potential that it didn't completely live up to.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
I thought as a whole Saw V turned out pretty well but not spectacular. This one seems more like a stopgap to what (as a Saw fan) I hope will be a larger, grander story finale in Saw VI. Too many critics are slamming Saw V, however, and in my opinion they just don't "get it." They judge V as a stand alone movie, and say the Saw storyline is tired after so many sequels and just about making the studio more cash. But if one truly "gets" the whole Saw universe, nothing is really ever "stand-alone." Things are ALWAYS part of a bigger puzzle. This is but one chapter in a larger overall story. In true Saw style, should fans really have expected anything else? Should we realistically have expected all our questions answered? Look at the cliffhanger ending of IV. Within a few minutes not only was it sprung on the audience that IV was running concurrently with III, but that Jigsaw had taken another apprentice, this time a cop with seemingly unlimited inside access. That alone left me asking why, and immediately began building the hype for a full year of wondering what would happen next come Saw V. If creating future anticipation and expectations is enough to judge this movie, than it more than succeeds. That being said, there's a fine line between creating anticipation and leaving the audience wanting more, and I'd say in all objectivity this movie tiptoes that line.
The visuals are as always outstanding, however the gore seems noticeably toned down when compared to the previous 4 movies. FACT - This movie received an R rating on the first MPAA submission, which is a first for any Saw movie. The writers and producers rely one too many times on involving "weapons of mass destruction" this time around. See the movie and you'll know what I mean. Where are the imaginative and ultimately gory traps? Where is the sense of imminent and extreme danger along with subsequent suffering through a tortuous "game" that's enough to make the audience squirm in their seats? In this department Saw V is noticeably lacking. Only once, during the final "team" trap, did I see anything that made me squirm. Have they reached the point where one can only go so far and do so much in terms of creating fresh and torturously effective trap ideas? Maybe the producers wanted to inch away from continuously being labeled as "torture porn" in the media. Well, one can hope for more on the unrated DVD come January, I suppose.
Character development could've used some work as well. A few of the new characters I really didn't care all that much about. After the first 4 movies one had the sense that any seemingly insignificant charcter could be involved in something major down the road. But that sense is for the most part gone here. It was pretty obvious some of them were just thrown in there to either die or inch the story along, i.e. the cute blonde who doesn't say much in the first group trap in the case of the former, or Strahm's FBI boss Erickson in the case of the latter. In her truncated role Meagan Good was HOT as always, though.
I don't think the acting was as stiff as some have said. Tobin Bell, as always, manages to creepily steal most of his scenes with his malevolent whisper. Costas Mandylor is passable as Hoffman, although the only times you really see even a glimpse of more than one or two dimensions of his character are allusions as to what he was like before he fell into involvement with Jigsaw. Scott Patterson as Strahm seems pretty tightly wound this time around, but wouldn't you be as well if you had just barely survived a trap that was seemingly built to be inescapable a la Amanda Young style? Mark Rolston doesn't really add anything significant as FBI Agent Erickson, as I said I didn't really care much about the character. Julie Benz as Brit tries to be ruthless, but she should have tried harder. Still something about Brit, story wise, just doesn't add up. Betsy Russell as Jigsaw's ex Jill is pretty vague in her few scenes, but I can absolutely see more involvement from her in the future.
Story-wise there were some positives. I absolutely DID like how the history between Jigsaw and Hoffman developed and was explained. I didn't imagine it happening quite like it did, but I thought this part of the story turned out well. The build-up of the last 20 minutes to the ending was fairly predictable, i.e. Hoffman setting events in motion to frame someone else as the potential Jigsaw accomplice. However, that being said, the way the ending ACTUALLY played out did shock me. I won't totally spoil it, but I will say I didn't see the end result coming AT ALL.
As I said at the beginning of the review, this movie does create quite a bit of anticipation. There were even MORE unanswered questions left after this one in yet another cliff-hanger ending, even when compared to IV. And even some questions from IV that still weren't answered to boot. What was in the box that Jigsaw willed to Jill? Does Jill have a deeper involvement in continuing Jigsaw's games (it may seem too obvious, but I believe she does). For what specific purpose were the 5 strangers brought together in the series of group traps? Did Brit REALLY cut her arm that badly (I don't believe she did)? What really happened to Rigg? What was the extent of Kerry's involvement with Perez and Strahm? Will we ever find out what was in the envelope that Hoffman left Amanda? And most importantly, when and how will Hoffman be tested?
I can definitely see them finishing up this story arc in VI but not necessarily stopping the franchise. I really HOPE they tie up most of the loose ends of the Jigsaw story. From the beginning Tobin Bell has been signed on for 6 total films. Costas Mandylor and supposedly Scott Patterson are only signed for the next movie. I can't see them going beyond that with this storyline (at least I HOPE they don't).
In closing, my thoughts are that as a true Saw fan I enjoyed Saw V for what it was, part of a bigger story. I simply would've preferred a little more gore, trap ingenuity, and length to the movie. Among the fanbase I'm sure this film will create tremendous expectations for VI, and all I can say is that I hope the producers find a way to end the story with a BANG.
The Saw journey is still the most twisted and convoluted path in modern horror. If you're a devoted fan and you enjoyed the first 4, fair chances are that you'll enjoy this one. |
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