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- Movie Review: Saw V
Movie Review: Saw V
- By Aubrey Ward III
- Published 11/15/2008
- Movies
-
Rating:
Aubrey Ward III
I'm not telling you what to see. I'm not telling you what not to see. I'm just sharing my experience and opinion on the movie, tv show or play that I have seen. I'm merely an advisor. Ultimately, you will have to go with your own gut and decide if you'll buy the ticket or not.
View all articles by Aubrey Ward III
I was talking with a friend one day and he asked if I had considered viewing Saw V. I told him that it wasn’t first on my box office list. Though I followed the Saw series through DVD rentals I never planned on going to the multiplex to watch it on the big screen. During this conversation I got a notion that “Gee, this might make for a nice article” and so three weeks after the flick's 10/24/08 release I finally found an opening in my burgeoning social calendar to hang out with Jigsaw. I mean, who can resist a guy that hangs out with a creepy looking, tricycling puppet?
Detective Hoffman aka Jigsaw Jr (Costas Mandylor)
Saw V begins where Saw III left off. The original Jigsaw, John Kramer (Tobin Bell), is lying on the gurney dead as a doornail. His protégé/ surrogate daughter, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), is out of commission, too. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh), the good doctor that Amanda kidnapped to operate on Mr.Kramer, is slumped in the corner with her face blown off. The doc’s husband, Jeff Reinhart (Angus Macfadyen), stands alone in the room of corpses. Jeff is severely kicking himself for killing John before he revealed where Jeff’s kidnapped daughter Corbett (Niamh Wilson) is being held.
The events of Saw III and Saw IV merge when FBI Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) enters the scene and shoots Jeff dead in self defense. Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), revealed to be Jigsaw’s other accomplice in Saw IV, locks the door on Strahm trapping him in the corpse ridden room. Oh but hark! Another door opens and this one leads to another twisty and bloody ride that is titled Saw V.
Luba (Meagan Good) In A "Hole" Lotta Trouble
Now, don’t go getting prematurely sore. That plot reveal in the previous paragraph is just the tip of the iceberg in this seemingly conclusive episode that ties up the rest of the loose ends left dangling from the previous Saw flicks (I think). Saw V explains how Jigsaw was able to convert a straight up cop like Det. Hoffman into a friendly neighborhood dealer of fate. John’s ex-wife, Jill (Betsy Russell), is pulled back into the saga thanks to John’s last will and testament. While the rest of the world believes Jigsaw’s reign of terror ended with John Kramer’s death, Agent Strahm believes there’s still one lingering piece of the puzzle and continues his investigation on the downlow. Hoffman really has his work cut for him. While Hoffman struggles to keep two steps ahead of Agent Strahm he is also in the middle of running a game of his own.
Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) Share A Private Moment
It wouldn’t be a Saw movie without a group of strangers locked in a dingy warehouse and forced to participate in a series of gruesome 'play or die' exercises. Once again, the randomly picked victims actually share a disturbing connection and once again they’ll have to do the unthinkable to survive those clever death traps.
On its own, Saw V has that distinction of being the gore movie that actually makes you think. Kind of like watching a porn movie and paying more attention to the story than the 'ahem' action. Just like in the previous Saw movies I had to listen to every word and look at every detail so that the ending would make as much sense as possible.
While I applaud the Saw crew for supplying a bevy of visual aides from the past Saw flicks I strongly suggest seeing at least Saw III and Saw IV before trying out Saw V.
I realize that I’m gonna lose some elite points from the Organization of Cinemaristocrats (not that I have that many points left anyway) but I liked Saw V but not because it was a great film. On it’s own Saw V is a decent mystery flick where the audience already knows whodunit and has to sit kind of impatiently while the characters slowly figure it out on the screen. While this isn't the bloodiest Saw movie the gore that is present is potent enough. The goriest trap, in my opinion, was the first trap which was obviously and lovingly inspired by The Pit & The Pendulum. Anyway, Saw V was good for me because it wrapped up the first four movies in a nice package and number five served as that pretty pink bow.
Seth (Joris Jarsky) is the next contestant on "The Price Is Life"
The performances were okay. The usual stuff. I felt conflicted with Hoffman’s actions. I knew what he was doing was wrong but every once in awhile I had to catch myself when I started to root for him. I felt bad for Agent Strahm. He lost his partner in Saw IV, almost lost his life, and while I hoped the knight in shining armor would prevail we horror people know that the pure of heart are usually the ones to fall hardest. Julie Benz stars as one of the captive “contestants” in the Saw V obstacle course. Yes, THAT Julie Benz noted for playing the vampy vamp Darla on tv's Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. I just have a soft spot for any cast member from Joss Whedon’s vampire shows. Meagan Good (Eve’s Bayou, D.E.B.S.) also ends up in that dank prison. Someone as pretty as her character must’ve done something pretty lowdown to end up in that predicament. And even in death and flashbacks Tobin Bell is a powerful presence in Saw V. The traps might be the blood but Bell is the heart of the Saw franchise.
The New Class: Brit (Julie Benz), Charles (Carlo Rota), Mallick (Greg Bryk), and Luba (Meagan Good)
Wow. I really didn’t expect to write this much about Saw V. Guess it was better than I thought. Nah! While the traps were neat and the plot was slicker than expected I was more elated at the sense of closure at the end. I was floating on a wave of relief that John Kramer is dead and that big old plot that spanned five films was over or at the very least mostly wrapped up. On the other hand, for a dead character John Kramer had a lot of face time in this film so I suspect we'll be seeing Jigsaw #1 in future Saw movies.
Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) says you have three minutes to pre-order your tickets for Saw VI or suffer the consquences!
Will there be a Saw VI? Yeah. Sorry folks but the way I see it this is just the end of the first story arc. And until people tire of the traps and the plot twists expect the Saw franchise to continue bringing in those Halloween box office bucks. On the plus side, with John Kramer and Amanda out of the picture (I assume) I am curious to see what direction the Saw series will take. Saw: Book 2, anyone?
www.saw5.com
www.officialsaw.com
Detective Hoffman aka Jigsaw Jr (Costas Mandylor)
Saw V begins where Saw III left off. The original Jigsaw, John Kramer (Tobin Bell), is lying on the gurney dead as a doornail. His protégé/ surrogate daughter, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), is out of commission, too. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh), the good doctor that Amanda kidnapped to operate on Mr.Kramer, is slumped in the corner with her face blown off. The doc’s husband, Jeff Reinhart (Angus Macfadyen), stands alone in the room of corpses. Jeff is severely kicking himself for killing John before he revealed where Jeff’s kidnapped daughter Corbett (Niamh Wilson) is being held.
The events of Saw III and Saw IV merge when FBI Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) enters the scene and shoots Jeff dead in self defense. Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), revealed to be Jigsaw’s other accomplice in Saw IV, locks the door on Strahm trapping him in the corpse ridden room. Oh but hark! Another door opens and this one leads to another twisty and bloody ride that is titled Saw V.
Luba (Meagan Good) In A "Hole" Lotta Trouble
Now, don’t go getting prematurely sore. That plot reveal in the previous paragraph is just the tip of the iceberg in this seemingly conclusive episode that ties up the rest of the loose ends left dangling from the previous Saw flicks (I think). Saw V explains how Jigsaw was able to convert a straight up cop like Det. Hoffman into a friendly neighborhood dealer of fate. John’s ex-wife, Jill (Betsy Russell), is pulled back into the saga thanks to John’s last will and testament. While the rest of the world believes Jigsaw’s reign of terror ended with John Kramer’s death, Agent Strahm believes there’s still one lingering piece of the puzzle and continues his investigation on the downlow. Hoffman really has his work cut for him. While Hoffman struggles to keep two steps ahead of Agent Strahm he is also in the middle of running a game of his own.
Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) Share A Private Moment
It wouldn’t be a Saw movie without a group of strangers locked in a dingy warehouse and forced to participate in a series of gruesome 'play or die' exercises. Once again, the randomly picked victims actually share a disturbing connection and once again they’ll have to do the unthinkable to survive those clever death traps.
On its own, Saw V has that distinction of being the gore movie that actually makes you think. Kind of like watching a porn movie and paying more attention to the story than the 'ahem' action. Just like in the previous Saw movies I had to listen to every word and look at every detail so that the ending would make as much sense as possible.
I realize that I’m gonna lose some elite points from the Organization of Cinemaristocrats (not that I have that many points left anyway) but I liked Saw V but not because it was a great film. On it’s own Saw V is a decent mystery flick where the audience already knows whodunit and has to sit kind of impatiently while the characters slowly figure it out on the screen. While this isn't the bloodiest Saw movie the gore that is present is potent enough. The goriest trap, in my opinion, was the first trap which was obviously and lovingly inspired by The Pit & The Pendulum. Anyway, Saw V was good for me because it wrapped up the first four movies in a nice package and number five served as that pretty pink bow.
Seth (Joris Jarsky) is the next contestant on "The Price Is Life"
The performances were okay. The usual stuff. I felt conflicted with Hoffman’s actions. I knew what he was doing was wrong but every once in awhile I had to catch myself when I started to root for him. I felt bad for Agent Strahm. He lost his partner in Saw IV, almost lost his life, and while I hoped the knight in shining armor would prevail we horror people know that the pure of heart are usually the ones to fall hardest. Julie Benz stars as one of the captive “contestants” in the Saw V obstacle course. Yes, THAT Julie Benz noted for playing the vampy vamp Darla on tv's Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. I just have a soft spot for any cast member from Joss Whedon’s vampire shows. Meagan Good (Eve’s Bayou, D.E.B.S.) also ends up in that dank prison. Someone as pretty as her character must’ve done something pretty lowdown to end up in that predicament. And even in death and flashbacks Tobin Bell is a powerful presence in Saw V. The traps might be the blood but Bell is the heart of the Saw franchise.
The New Class: Brit (Julie Benz), Charles (Carlo Rota), Mallick (Greg Bryk), and Luba (Meagan Good)
Wow. I really didn’t expect to write this much about Saw V. Guess it was better than I thought. Nah! While the traps were neat and the plot was slicker than expected I was more elated at the sense of closure at the end. I was floating on a wave of relief that John Kramer is dead and that big old plot that spanned five films was over or at the very least mostly wrapped up. On the other hand, for a dead character John Kramer had a lot of face time in this film so I suspect we'll be seeing Jigsaw #1 in future Saw movies.
Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) says you have three minutes to pre-order your tickets for Saw VI or suffer the consquences!
Will there be a Saw VI? Yeah. Sorry folks but the way I see it this is just the end of the first story arc. And until people tire of the traps and the plot twists expect the Saw franchise to continue bringing in those Halloween box office bucks. On the plus side, with John Kramer and Amanda out of the picture (I assume) I am curious to see what direction the Saw series will take. Saw: Book 2, anyone?
www.saw5.com
www.officialsaw.com
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Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by Jesse)
Rating:
There is too much blood in the movie and that is not good for the children because it give them in a idea to kill people too so that why i gave it a zero.