The massive Low-Budget success of the first saw film has now spawned two sequels and the third film, "Saw III" completes a story arc that has spanned the first three films in the series and leaving fans wondering what direction can the series take in the upcoming "Saw IV." The first film found two men, Adam (Series creator Leigh Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) chained into a horrifically dirty and decrepit bathroom with the only means of escape requiring them to saw off their own feet to leave the bathroom. They were part of a game that was created by the ruthless Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and would require Dr. Gordon to kill Adam in order to save his family and get his own freedom from the evil game. The second film found Jigsaw´s protégée Amanda (Shawnee Smith) taking over the game master role and placing detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) trying to save his own son from a house of horrors. This third film ties together events that were detailed in the first two films and brings closure to cancer patient John, aka Jigsaw.
Horror films typically start to go downhill after the first film and depreciate in value rather quickly with each additional sequel. The first "Saw" brought about an entirely different approach to horror movies, where the gore was kept high, but the typical frights and chills were replaced with horrifying situations and uncomfortable visions on the screen. The second film toyed around with the formula some, but made a respectable sequel that was very much in the same vein as the first "Saw," but a completely different film that sent the series in a new direction in its storytelling. The first film was certainly the better of the first two pictures in the "Saw" franchise. It was fresh and intriguing and not knowing anything about Jigsaw kept the ´killer´ a mysterious entity that was a unknowing force to be reckoned with. After discovering he was fighting a losing battle with cancer, Jigsaw became an enigmatic icon of horror films, but lacked much of the mystique that was built during the first picture. With series such as "The Matrix" being concluded in a disappointing fashion, "Saw III" not only had to battle the ghosts of horror trilogies that had gone awry, but had to deal with the recent trend of third franchise entries having a difficult time delivering a magical ending to their story arcs.
Fortunately, I found "Saw III" to be a well written and slick entry in the horror series that did not quite match up to the first film in originality or overall quality, but bested the second entry and tied together the plots of the first two films in a way that was somewhat shocking, but revealing in a manner that made the entire three picture series one coherent body of work. Before viewing "Saw III," I had made my own conclusions about the protégée of Jigsaw and my beliefs that she was part of the first film´s "game." The third film was rewarding by validating my beliefs and doing so in an entertaining way that added details and information about the very first film by showing the first game as it was being constructed. The manner in which "Saw III" changed the believed plot points of the first film was a different approach to third films and whereas most sequels try to bring new developments that either surprise the viewer or jump the shark, "Saw III" showed events that were not seen from "Saw" that was far more imaginative.
The film finds Jigsaw on his deathbed. Cancer is ravaging his body and only a shadow of his former physical self. He sends Amanda to kidnap a doctor, Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) and force her to take part in a game where the doctor is kept alive as long as she keeps Jigsaw from dying. This is done by attaching a collar filled with shotgun shells around her lovely neck. Jigsaw and Amanda are watching a game where the father, Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), of a boy killed by a driver is placed into a house of horrors where those responsible for freeing the young man who had driven the car that murdered his boy was set free from prison after six months. Each step of the way, Jeff is given an opportunity to save the life of somebody he resents, but this must be done by personal sacrifice and suffering. Ultimately, Jeff comes face-to-face with the driver of the vehicle and must decide to either watch the young man die a horrifyingly grisly and painful death or to suffer a very painful injury to free him from a contraption called "The Rack." Jigsaw is trying to teach Jeff about forgiveness and personal redemption with his game, but also testing Amanda and Lynn while the game continues.
Jigsaw knows that this is his last game. He is unhappy with the direction taken by Amanda and is using this final game to teach her a lesson about his methods and rules and the life values taught by his game. Jigsaw is in a physical shambles and requires surgery to keep from succumbing to mounting pressure under his cranial cap. As Jeff passes through the maze of death, he is able to save one of the first victims he runs across and starts to understand about those he deemed as unworthy to live and look at his own feelings as he is forced to deal with the death of his own son. Amanda becomes resentful of Lynn and wants to see the good doctor punished for kindness shown to Lynn by Jigsaw. As the games progress and tensions build among all of the participants, Jigsaw´s pasty face further shows he is losing grip on life and has precious little time. The man responsible for the cruel and disgusting games is nearing a point where he will hand over his "work" to his protégée, but Amanda is something that Jigsaw was not – a cold blooded killer. Her games have no winners and she does not follow the rules. His last game is to allow not only Jeff a chance at redemption, but also Amanda.
"Saw III" tied together all three films and added value to the first two films by fleshing them out further. It stood on its own as well with the human drama of Jigsaw fighting for a few additional breaths of life, but also the game played by Jeff that found him finding forgiveness in people that he desperately wanted to see dead, and was given the chance to have this happen. The returning characters from "Saw II" found their demises in clever fashion and I was more than happy to see the return of Donnie Wahlberg and hoped to see him survive as he made his way from the now infamous dark and gruesome bathroom. Dina Meyer found her way into all three of the "Saw" films, but her end has been found. Shawnee Smith was fine as Amanda, but as a killer, she truly lacked the charisma or fright factor thrown into the series by Tobin Bell, who was the true force behind the first three films.
As the credits began to crawl in "Saw III," I found myself very satisfied by the film. It wrapped up its story arc in a very original way that I had somewhat expected, but in a fashion where I felt validated and not cheated. The game that Jigsaw has set up for Jeff is far better than that in the second film and far gorier than the first film. Speaking of gore, "Saw III" trounces nearly any film I´ve seen in the past decade or so in the gore department. A smashed foot and the first two victims shown in the film are horrifyingly graphic and quite disturbing to look at. I felt squeamish at the horrible depictions shown on-screen, but I loved every minute of it. This is easily one of the best third films I have seen in any franchise, aside from the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy." Jigsaw was a great persona on film and the performances by Tobin Bell were remarkable and the loss of him as a character will certainly hurt the "Saw" franchise, although with a talented writer, a new direction could be quite compelling.
Horror films typically start to go downhill after the first film and depreciate in value rather quickly with each additional sequel. The first "Saw" brought about an entirely different approach to horror movies, where the gore was kept high, but the typical frights and chills were replaced with horrifying situations and uncomfortable visions on the screen. The second film toyed around with the formula some, but made a respectable sequel that was very much in the same vein as the first "Saw," but a completely different film that sent the series in a new direction in its storytelling. The first film was certainly the better of the first two pictures in the "Saw" franchise. It was fresh and intriguing and not knowing anything about Jigsaw kept the ´killer´ a mysterious entity that was a unknowing force to be reckoned with. After discovering he was fighting a losing battle with cancer, Jigsaw became an enigmatic icon of horror films, but lacked much of the mystique that was built during the first picture. With series such as "The Matrix" being concluded in a disappointing fashion, "Saw III" not only had to battle the ghosts of horror trilogies that had gone awry, but had to deal with the recent trend of third franchise entries having a difficult time delivering a magical ending to their story arcs.
Fortunately, I found "Saw III" to be a well written and slick entry in the horror series that did not quite match up to the first film in originality or overall quality, but bested the second entry and tied together the plots of the first two films in a way that was somewhat shocking, but revealing in a manner that made the entire three picture series one coherent body of work. Before viewing "Saw III," I had made my own conclusions about the protégée of Jigsaw and my beliefs that she was part of the first film´s "game." The third film was rewarding by validating my beliefs and doing so in an entertaining way that added details and information about the very first film by showing the first game as it was being constructed. The manner in which "Saw III" changed the believed plot points of the first film was a different approach to third films and whereas most sequels try to bring new developments that either surprise the viewer or jump the shark, "Saw III" showed events that were not seen from "Saw" that was far more imaginative.
The film finds Jigsaw on his deathbed. Cancer is ravaging his body and only a shadow of his former physical self. He sends Amanda to kidnap a doctor, Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) and force her to take part in a game where the doctor is kept alive as long as she keeps Jigsaw from dying. This is done by attaching a collar filled with shotgun shells around her lovely neck. Jigsaw and Amanda are watching a game where the father, Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), of a boy killed by a driver is placed into a house of horrors where those responsible for freeing the young man who had driven the car that murdered his boy was set free from prison after six months. Each step of the way, Jeff is given an opportunity to save the life of somebody he resents, but this must be done by personal sacrifice and suffering. Ultimately, Jeff comes face-to-face with the driver of the vehicle and must decide to either watch the young man die a horrifyingly grisly and painful death or to suffer a very painful injury to free him from a contraption called "The Rack." Jigsaw is trying to teach Jeff about forgiveness and personal redemption with his game, but also testing Amanda and Lynn while the game continues.
Jigsaw knows that this is his last game. He is unhappy with the direction taken by Amanda and is using this final game to teach her a lesson about his methods and rules and the life values taught by his game. Jigsaw is in a physical shambles and requires surgery to keep from succumbing to mounting pressure under his cranial cap. As Jeff passes through the maze of death, he is able to save one of the first victims he runs across and starts to understand about those he deemed as unworthy to live and look at his own feelings as he is forced to deal with the death of his own son. Amanda becomes resentful of Lynn and wants to see the good doctor punished for kindness shown to Lynn by Jigsaw. As the games progress and tensions build among all of the participants, Jigsaw´s pasty face further shows he is losing grip on life and has precious little time. The man responsible for the cruel and disgusting games is nearing a point where he will hand over his "work" to his protégée, but Amanda is something that Jigsaw was not – a cold blooded killer. Her games have no winners and she does not follow the rules. His last game is to allow not only Jeff a chance at redemption, but also Amanda.
"Saw III" tied together all three films and added value to the first two films by fleshing them out further. It stood on its own as well with the human drama of Jigsaw fighting for a few additional breaths of life, but also the game played by Jeff that found him finding forgiveness in people that he desperately wanted to see dead, and was given the chance to have this happen. The returning characters from "Saw II" found their demises in clever fashion and I was more than happy to see the return of Donnie Wahlberg and hoped to see him survive as he made his way from the now infamous dark and gruesome bathroom. Dina Meyer found her way into all three of the "Saw" films, but her end has been found. Shawnee Smith was fine as Amanda, but as a killer, she truly lacked the charisma or fright factor thrown into the series by Tobin Bell, who was the true force behind the first three films.
As the credits began to crawl in "Saw III," I found myself very satisfied by the film. It wrapped up its story arc in a very original way that I had somewhat expected, but in a fashion where I felt validated and not cheated. The game that Jigsaw has set up for Jeff is far better than that in the second film and far gorier than the first film. Speaking of gore, "Saw III" trounces nearly any film I´ve seen in the past decade or so in the gore department. A smashed foot and the first two victims shown in the film are horrifyingly graphic and quite disturbing to look at. I felt squeamish at the horrible depictions shown on-screen, but I loved every minute of it. This is easily one of the best third films I have seen in any franchise, aside from the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy." Jigsaw was a great persona on film and the performances by Tobin Bell were remarkable and the loss of him as a character will certainly hurt the "Saw" franchise, although with a talented writer, a new direction could be quite compelling.
The massive Low-Budget success of the first saw film has now spawned two sequels and the third film, "Saw III" completes a story arc that has spanned the first three films in the series and leaving fans wondering what direction can the series take in the upcoming "Saw IV." The first film found two men, Adam (Series creator Leigh Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) chained into a horrifically dirty and decrepit bathroom with the only means of escape requiring them to saw off their own feet to leave the bathroom. They were part of a game that was created by the ruthless Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and would require Dr. Gordon to kill Adam in order to save his family and get his own freedom from the evil game. The second film found Jigsaw´s protégée Amanda (Shawnee Smith) taking over the game master role and placing detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) trying to save his own son from a house of horrors. This third film ties together events that were detailed in the first two films and brings closure to cancer patient John, aka Jigsaw.
Horror films typically start to go downhill after the first film and depreciate in value rather quickly with each additional sequel. The first "Saw" brought about an entirely different approach to horror movies, where the gore was kept high, but the typical frights and chills were replaced with horrifying situations and uncomfortable visions on the screen. The second film toyed around with the formula some, but made a respectable sequel that was very much in the same vein as the first "Saw," but a completely different film that sent the series in a new direction in its storytelling. The first film was certainly the better of the first two pictures in the "Saw" franchise. It was fresh and intriguing and not knowing anything about Jigsaw kept the ´killer´ a mysterious entity that was a unknowing force to be reckoned with. After discovering he was fighting a losing battle with cancer, Jigsaw became an enigmatic icon of horror films, but lacked much of the mystique that was built during the first picture. With series such as "The Matrix" being concluded in a disappointing fashion, "Saw III" not only had to battle the ghosts of horror trilogies that had gone awry, but had to deal with the recent trend of third franchise entries having a difficult time delivering a magical ending to their story arcs.
Fortunately, I found "Saw III" to be a well written and slick entry in the horror series that did not quite match up to the first film in originality or overall quality, but bested the second entry and tied together the plots of the first two films in a way that was somewhat shocking, but revealing in a manner that made the entire three picture series one coherent body of work. Before viewing "Saw III," I had made my own conclusions about the protégée of Jigsaw and my beliefs that she was part of the first film´s "game." The third film was rewarding by validating my beliefs and doing so in an entertaining way that added details and information about the very first film by showing the first game as it was being constructed. The manner in which "Saw III" changed the believed plot points of the first film was a different approach to third films and whereas most sequels try to bring new developments that either surprise the viewer or jump the shark, "Saw III" showed events that were not seen from "Saw" that was far more imaginative.
The film finds Jigsaw on his deathbed. Cancer is ravaging his body and only a shadow of his former physical self. He sends Amanda to kidnap a doctor, Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) and force her to take part in a game where the doctor is kept alive as long as she keeps Jigsaw from dying. This is done by attaching a collar filled with shotgun shells around her lovely neck. Jigsaw and Amanda are watching a game where the father, Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), of a boy killed by a driver is placed into a house of horrors where those responsible for freeing the young man who had driven the car that murdered his boy was set free from prison after six months. Each step of the way, Jeff is given an opportunity to save the life of somebody he resents, but this must be done by personal sacrifice and suffering. Ultimately, Jeff comes face-to-face with the driver of the vehicle and must decide to either watch the young man die a horrifyingly grisly and painful death or to suffer a very painful injury to free him from a contraption called "The Rack." Jigsaw is trying to teach Jeff about forgiveness and personal redemption with his game, but also testing Amanda and Lynn while the game continues.
Jigsaw knows that this is his last game. He is unhappy with the direction taken by Amanda and is using this final game to teach her a lesson about his methods and rules and the life values taught by his game. Jigsaw is in a physical shambles and requires surgery to keep from succumbing to mounting pressure under his cranial cap. As Jeff passes through the maze of death, he is able to save one of the first victims he runs across and starts to understand about those he deemed as unworthy to live and look at his own feelings as he is forced to deal with the death of his own son. Amanda becomes resentful of Lynn and wants to see the good doctor punished for kindness shown to Lynn by Jigsaw. As the games progress and tensions build among all of the participants, Jigsaw´s pasty face further shows he is losing grip on life and has precious little time. The man responsible for the cruel and disgusting games is nearing a point where he will hand over his "work" to his protégée, but Amanda is something that Jigsaw was not – a cold blooded killer. Her games have no winners and she does not follow the rules. His last game is to allow not only Jeff a chance at redemption, but also Amanda.
"Saw III" tied together all three films and added value to the first two films by fleshing them out further. It stood on its own as well with the human drama of Jigsaw fighting for a few additional breaths of life, but also the game played by Jeff that found him finding forgiveness in people that he desperately wanted to see dead, and was given the chance to have this happen. The returning characters from "Saw II" found their demises in clever fashion and I was more than happy to see the return of Donnie Wahlberg and hoped to see him survive as he made his way from the now infamous dark and gruesome bathroom. Dina Meyer found her way into all three of the "Saw" films, but her end has been found. Shawnee Smith was fine as Amanda, but as a killer, she truly lacked the charisma or fright factor thrown into the series by Tobin Bell, who was the true force behind the first three films.
As the credits began to crawl in "Saw III," I found myself very satisfied by the film. It wrapped up its story arc in a very original way that I had somewhat expected, but in a fashion where I felt validated and not cheated. The game that Jigsaw has set up for Jeff is far better than that in the second film and far gorier than the first film. Speaking of gore, "Saw III" trounces nearly any film I´ve seen in the past decade or so in the gore department. A smashed foot and the first two victims shown in the film are horrifyingly graphic and quite disturbing to look at. I felt squeamish at the horrible depictions shown on-screen, but I loved every minute of it. This is easily one of the best third films I have seen in any franchise, aside from the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy." Jigsaw was a great persona on film and the performances by Tobin Bell were remarkable and the loss of him as a character will certainly hurt the "Saw" franchise, although with a talented writer, a new direction could be quite compelling.
Horror films typically start to go downhill after the first film and depreciate in value rather quickly with each additional sequel. The first "Saw" brought about an entirely different approach to horror movies, where the gore was kept high, but the typical frights and chills were replaced with horrifying situations and uncomfortable visions on the screen. The second film toyed around with the formula some, but made a respectable sequel that was very much in the same vein as the first "Saw," but a completely different film that sent the series in a new direction in its storytelling. The first film was certainly the better of the first two pictures in the "Saw" franchise. It was fresh and intriguing and not knowing anything about Jigsaw kept the ´killer´ a mysterious entity that was a unknowing force to be reckoned with. After discovering he was fighting a losing battle with cancer, Jigsaw became an enigmatic icon of horror films, but lacked much of the mystique that was built during the first picture. With series such as "The Matrix" being concluded in a disappointing fashion, "Saw III" not only had to battle the ghosts of horror trilogies that had gone awry, but had to deal with the recent trend of third franchise entries having a difficult time delivering a magical ending to their story arcs.
Fortunately, I found "Saw III" to be a well written and slick entry in the horror series that did not quite match up to the first film in originality or overall quality, but bested the second entry and tied together the plots of the first two films in a way that was somewhat shocking, but revealing in a manner that made the entire three picture series one coherent body of work. Before viewing "Saw III," I had made my own conclusions about the protégée of Jigsaw and my beliefs that she was part of the first film´s "game." The third film was rewarding by validating my beliefs and doing so in an entertaining way that added details and information about the very first film by showing the first game as it was being constructed. The manner in which "Saw III" changed the believed plot points of the first film was a different approach to third films and whereas most sequels try to bring new developments that either surprise the viewer or jump the shark, "Saw III" showed events that were not seen from "Saw" that was far more imaginative.
The film finds Jigsaw on his deathbed. Cancer is ravaging his body and only a shadow of his former physical self. He sends Amanda to kidnap a doctor, Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) and force her to take part in a game where the doctor is kept alive as long as she keeps Jigsaw from dying. This is done by attaching a collar filled with shotgun shells around her lovely neck. Jigsaw and Amanda are watching a game where the father, Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), of a boy killed by a driver is placed into a house of horrors where those responsible for freeing the young man who had driven the car that murdered his boy was set free from prison after six months. Each step of the way, Jeff is given an opportunity to save the life of somebody he resents, but this must be done by personal sacrifice and suffering. Ultimately, Jeff comes face-to-face with the driver of the vehicle and must decide to either watch the young man die a horrifyingly grisly and painful death or to suffer a very painful injury to free him from a contraption called "The Rack." Jigsaw is trying to teach Jeff about forgiveness and personal redemption with his game, but also testing Amanda and Lynn while the game continues.
Jigsaw knows that this is his last game. He is unhappy with the direction taken by Amanda and is using this final game to teach her a lesson about his methods and rules and the life values taught by his game. Jigsaw is in a physical shambles and requires surgery to keep from succumbing to mounting pressure under his cranial cap. As Jeff passes through the maze of death, he is able to save one of the first victims he runs across and starts to understand about those he deemed as unworthy to live and look at his own feelings as he is forced to deal with the death of his own son. Amanda becomes resentful of Lynn and wants to see the good doctor punished for kindness shown to Lynn by Jigsaw. As the games progress and tensions build among all of the participants, Jigsaw´s pasty face further shows he is losing grip on life and has precious little time. The man responsible for the cruel and disgusting games is nearing a point where he will hand over his "work" to his protégée, but Amanda is something that Jigsaw was not – a cold blooded killer. Her games have no winners and she does not follow the rules. His last game is to allow not only Jeff a chance at redemption, but also Amanda.
"Saw III" tied together all three films and added value to the first two films by fleshing them out further. It stood on its own as well with the human drama of Jigsaw fighting for a few additional breaths of life, but also the game played by Jeff that found him finding forgiveness in people that he desperately wanted to see dead, and was given the chance to have this happen. The returning characters from "Saw II" found their demises in clever fashion and I was more than happy to see the return of Donnie Wahlberg and hoped to see him survive as he made his way from the now infamous dark and gruesome bathroom. Dina Meyer found her way into all three of the "Saw" films, but her end has been found. Shawnee Smith was fine as Amanda, but as a killer, she truly lacked the charisma or fright factor thrown into the series by Tobin Bell, who was the true force behind the first three films.
As the credits began to crawl in "Saw III," I found myself very satisfied by the film. It wrapped up its story arc in a very original way that I had somewhat expected, but in a fashion where I felt validated and not cheated. The game that Jigsaw has set up for Jeff is far better than that in the second film and far gorier than the first film. Speaking of gore, "Saw III" trounces nearly any film I´ve seen in the past decade or so in the gore department. A smashed foot and the first two victims shown in the film are horrifyingly graphic and quite disturbing to look at. I felt squeamish at the horrible depictions shown on-screen, but I loved every minute of it. This is easily one of the best third films I have seen in any franchise, aside from the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy." Jigsaw was a great persona on film and the performances by Tobin Bell were remarkable and the loss of him as a character will certainly hurt the "Saw" franchise, although with a talented writer, a new direction could be quite compelling.
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