you are correct sir, given that I saw the last SAW VI in DLP and even that was DI'd to have a grainy look, it was odd to see this film all shiny and ultra crisp.

I thought the movie was decent for a finale but there was a ton of terrible writing. I laughed when the detective was able to make a deal with Jill for complete immunity when that would never be able to come from a law enforcement person themselves. Also, I thought that the actor playing the lead detective was trying to channel his inner Christian Bale and was doing a terrible job at it.

Question:

Translation:

I agree. I'm not particularly a fan of the new wave of 3-D, but thought this one was very well done. And you're right about the sound...the sound was amazing.

Overall, I really liked this one and left the theater with a huge smile on my face.

Finally caught this today... was pretty disappointed. Giving up spoiler tags since it's been out 2 weeks now, so skip ahead for anyone that hasn't seen it yet.




First, I absolutely had zero interest in Bobby Dagen, and for a movie that's supposed to be the very last one, introducing completely new characters to make up the bulk of the movie, particularly one that doesn't really have a redeeming quality to cheer for kind of sucks. It would have been far more satisfying if he somehow linked to a past character, but as people have already said, it was a completely separate story. I would have thought the writers would be far more creative in tying his story in, other then a really silly cameo by Tobin Bell. I liked the idea of the faked Jigsaw survivor, just really poor execution.

The acting was dreadful, especially by Gibson, which was already mentioned. Unlike the previous movies that included a list of cops that appeared in multiple movies, having a nameless guy who pretty much comes up as a bumbling fool makes him yet another character that I didn't care to cheer for. Plus, his demise was ridiculously weak. A machine gun pops up out of nowhere and mows everyone down? That's all?

Also as mentioned already, Jill somehow turned into a spineless wimp. The strong women from the last couple movies and that worked with Jigsaw pretty much turns into a typical damsal in distress. I was hoping her character would be redeemed a little better, but alas not the case.

I was excited to see Dr. Gordon come back, but again it felt like the writers dropped the ball with it. Showing him in the beginning tipped the hat too early, and him appearing as just a creepy cripple in that survivor meeting was far too obvious as well. I'm glad that the ending tied up his story and his role, but there was zero creativity in bringing him back other then the writers deciding "its the last movie, fans still keep asking about him, lets throw him in." I did like seeing a bunch of previous survivors and the flashbacks for them. I love those little moments.

Amid all those complaints, I hated the brightness that made it feel like a TV movie, the traps felt uninspired after VI brought back some new and interesting ones, and the stories didn't mesh the way Saw movies usually pull it off.

As a huge fan of the series, this ends up similar to V as being one my least favorite. VI was a nice upswing and I really thought the series would go out on a bang, but it ended up showing it really was sputtering for ideas and ready to end.

In regards to the spoiler Matthew posted, I thought they had gotten Monica Potter back, but she's not in the movie.

I mentioned it in my comment, but I totally agree with your comment about Jill Tuck. I almost thought I was watching a totally new character as she displayed none of the qualities from the last 2 films, especially when she took out Hoffman in the final sequence of VI.

And yes, Gibson was an awful character and the actor flat out sucked. His demise was laughably bad.

Other than that, I enjoyed the film more than you. Thought the Bobby Dagen character was an interesting new character. I do have to wonder if it was indeed Gordon who set the traps up for him or Hoffman.

This just broke 100 million worldwide and is on it's way to beating SAW V's total take.

One of my friends who works at a GameStop gave me a deck of Saw cards that had been some sort of GameStop giveaway. They're old news, but almost half the deck consisted of unused Saw IV poster art, so I scanned them and put them on my Twitpic account here: http://www.twitpic.com/photos/droidguy1119

I'm sure xage will be fascinated...

Those are pretty sweet.

I think everything that can be said about this film has been said by others. Chad Donella (Gibson) was pretty boring/awful. Didn't really care about Bobby Dagen other than it being an excuse for more traps.

Loved the Day-Time Trap as well as the ending. Still a really fun film.

Jigsaw cameo=

Finally watched this last night and was very disappointed.

Like everyone else I hated the new cop and his entire storyline was laughable, down to the absurd conclusion.

While Gordon's reveal at the end was a great, "why didn't I think of that earlier" moment, I felt it betrayed the character a bit.

The fake survivor main plotline was incredibly weak and ultimately mean-spirited. I can see the "unwinnable" trap at the end being designed by Hoffman, but wasn't the whole thing a final Jigsaw design? I can see him wanting to show the faker the error of his ways, but has Jigsaw ever truly made an "unwinnable" trap? Additionally, Sean Patrick Flannery didn't look well and by the end was phoning it in.

The Jigsaw cameo was bittersweet, serving only to remind viewers how much Tobin Bell brought to the films.

I did enjoy how Hoffman's murder spree wrapped up a lot of loose threads (I guarantee people would be saying the coroner was in on it, had he made it out alive), but a part of me is afraid his assumed demise we'll be exploited in a cheap direct-to-video or theatrical attempt at a reboot.

Were we supposed to feel sorry for Jill? She's an incredibly dense character who could have ended things a long time ago.

My initial feeling is this is the weakest in the series at a C-, but could easily see that dropping to a D+ on repeat viewings. I'm in no hurry to add it to my collection (will wait for a $5 used copy) and considering dumping it outright. I just don't know if I want to get rid of II through VI or keep the original trilogy, which does leave viewers a place to get out.


Final Series Ranking:
SAW II: A- (3.5/4) [Tobin Bell puts this over the original, even though it's a lower grade]
SAW: A (4/4)
SAW VI: B (3/5)
SAW IV: B (3/5)
SAW III: B- (2.5/5)
SAW V: C (2/5)
SAW THE FINAL CHAPTER: C- (1.5/5)

This is coming out in Spain on February 16.

Finally watched this today, and like most people, very disappointed. But I didn't regret watching it, since I love this series.

By the 7th entry, my expectations weren't very high, but I at least expected a better detective. That guy was horrible. While most people enjoy the traps, I enjoy the backstory more. I wished there was more of that, which would have meant more Tobin Bell.

Finally watched this on Epix HD a couple weeks ago and I agree with Boba Fett... weak final entry for this series. The plot was terrible, the acting hit a new low for this series, and I just couldn't wait for the damn thing to end. I was really hoping they'd go out on a higher note, but this final film ended up being no better than the last couple... and I thought those were weak, too.

I'll admit the traps were as sadistic as ever. A few had me cringing at the thought of what I'd do if I wound up in one of them. Chester Bennington's in particular looked really painful.

I still think this series should've ended at Saw III. Without Jigsaw, you really don't have a series. As each new entry came, and we got less & less of him, the quality greatly declined. I think the series would be held in better regard if they'd stopped there.

I disagree. IV and VI were my two favorite entries. I did think this last one was quite underwhelming, though. and yeah, the cop was terrible. The series had tons of entertaining cop characters: Tapp, Sing, Kerry, Eric, Rigg, Strahm, Erickson, and even Hoffman -- all had good presence and were passably believable as police officers. This last guy seemed like a hyperactive 17-year-old who learned everything he knew about cops from bad TV movies.

The Jill dream sequence that we briefly debated about on page 3 was not originally a dream sequence. When Kevin Greutert was brought on board a couple of weeks before production was to begin, he did not like that scene and wanted it removed. But since the sets were already built, he was not allowed to cut it completely. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan did a last minute re-write of the script, and that was one of the changes that was made.

Also:Kevin Greutert said
And the original title really was SAW 3D: The Traps Come Alive

Are those from an interview somewhere?

Different sources. Can't remember where I read the first one, I'll look for it. Quote about Tanedra Howard was from the official saw forum. Kevin confirmed the original title through reddit.