Saw 3D - Il capitolo finale

Pros:

A good storyline with plenty of twists.

Some of the most creative traps to date.

I really liked the scenes outside rather than always being set in the dark dingy rooms (excluding flashbacks) like in the other movies.

Good ending.

Cons:

Some of the acting was a little off, Chad Donella (Who played Gibson) did not do a very good job, I sometimes could not tell if he was trying to be sarcastic or if it was just bad acting before including no... he is just a dodgy actor. The scene during the television interview also displayed some terrible acting from the characters behind the camera crew as well as the woman interviewing 'Bobby'.

The 3D was disappointing.

At times there seemed to be too much going on at once with too many cuts to different locations

Jill goes into protective custody, but after trying to kill Hoffman, he sets his sights on getting her. Jigsaw puts survivor and now successful author Bobby Dagen into the game.

I know before I even start that this one is regarded as the weakest in the franchise by many, check out most of the online rankings list, and most are harsh on this one.

I'm glad they toned down the soft focus flashbacks, 4 and 5 are full of them, they're too much, there are a few, but they're tolerable.

For me, this one is still better than Saw 4, and possibly Saw 5. It's trashy, it's tacky, the story doesn't make sense, and some of the games are silly, but there are some pretty cool sequences.

I've always liked the scene with the racist guy and his band of followers, that car seat scene is gross. Some of Bobby's games are pretty cool too.

I loathed that opening game, it seemed so unlikely that Kramer would have put a game on for the public, everything had always been done in closed, shut off spaces, it felt at odds with his character, as did the hugely vindictive vendetta against Dagen, I know he lied, but compared to what some of Jigsaw's targets did, it seemed excessive.

It is great to see a few faces from the show's past, and it was nice to see them play a part in the shocking twist. I also liked the twist from the original Saw movie.

6/10.

What can one attribute to another entry into the "Saw" franchise? Number 7 comes right on the heels of the 3D craze and purports to be its final chapter. So Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is still dead and but his legacy still goes on in flashbacks. And in a protégé, Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). And in his widow, Jill (Betsy Russell). The entire soap opera of Jigsaw's family and professional life carries a narrative that attempts to reconcile the final film with the beginning of the franchise, and it definitely does seem to have recapitulated rather well for both hardcore fans as well as fairweather ones. But it has to be said that the films have been on a downward spiral since its fantastic first installment. It delivers the gore in more elaborate ways than the past few films have -- considering how quickly they were rushed out -- but loses that sense of cleverness and more importantly, that sense of menace that the franchise has always attempted to retain.

After the previous six films, the franchise does not so much look through the eye of the victims anymore as it does its villains who have an entire mythology unto themselves. And "Saw 3D" almost solely focuses on Hoffman, who it really has to be said, is a sad substitute for Jigsaw. He carries on his messiah's waning moralistic philosophy by continuing to find victims in need of a baptism by blood but finds himself hindered by Jill who is now cooperating with the police and giving them everything she knows to spite her husband's latest protégé. Add to this one Bobby Dagen (an actually funny Sean Patrick Flanery), who has written a best-selling book and sold DVDs about being a Jigsaw survivor and profiting from Hoffman's hallowed gift of life. Suffice to say, he (and his wife) quickly becomes the main plaything of this film's grand guignol torture play with 60 minutes set on the clock.

Now, even with the requisite twists and better-than-expected inventiveness of its traps, "Saw 3D" does not deliver in the least with its titular promise -- it's 3D sets yet another low standard for the technology. If the onus on watching this film is to attempt a different perspective, then it never quite reaches the mark. But who are we really kidding here? It's just one more excuse to milk this cash cow. The franchise has truly run its course. If you watched and enjoyed all seven of its films, at least you can be proud of that. Right? Anyone?

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There is no denying the impact the Saw series has had on not only the horror genre, but movies in general. Starting off as a little low-budget psychological thriller centred around two guys in a basement, this series has smashed box office records and created a new horror villain in Jigsaw. Since 2004 audiences have flocked to watch new victims meet their demise in an inventive and cruel way while relishing the inane plot twists and convoluted story, whilst others have condemned the series as "torture porn" and nothing but sick people coming up with sick traps for sick audiences.

This latest entry stays true to its predecessors and delivers over-the-top, ultra-violent death scenes accompanied by a plot full of flash backs, surprise revelations and an overuse of the main theme. To explain the plot of Saw 3D is silly, as the whole point of a Saw film is to go in having no idea about any of the trips or twists and to enjoy them as they come at you from every which way. I will say; however, that the film does end well, and the story is wrapped up fairly nicely with no obvious need for a sequel (as this is hopefully the "final" film).

Overall the film is very much the same as Saw VI (2009) which was also directed by Kevin Greutert. Like many of the sequels this has multiple stories going at once, but it doesn't quite gel. It all feels very choppy, and after awhile the sheer amount of changing scenes can get quite annoying as it takes away from the suspense which is often built up quite well. The editing, lighting, camera-work and music is all the same as the other entries, by now it is stock standard Saw settings. Jigsaw's traps are back and they are as nasty as ever, if there is one thing this movie delivers on, is fantastic gore. A word of caution (although you may be expecting this now): the 3D is a total waste of money and there are one or two cool effects utilised in the whole 90 minute movie. Do NOT expect something cool just because it was filmed in 3D, cos it ain't any better than the post-conversion films.

On a final note, I have never been a huge fan of the Saw series, but looking back it has been an interesting ride. The first film, although flawed, had a great new concept and a shocking twist. Unfortunately the sequels took away from the first, creating a story based around traps and trying to fit as many twists in as possible. These last two entries by Greutert have been two of the strongest (as well as Saw III), but there are still glaring issues that prevent it from being a great movie. Saw fans will not be disappointed, anyone else should probably stay away unless you like buckets of blood and don't care about understanding the story! 3/5

In keeping with the annual Halloween tradition, producers decided to bring their audience this allegedly final installment of the unsettling series, and apparently wanted to go out in style with what has fast become an overused technique in three-dimensional effects. The "story" centers around a self-help author who purportedly survived the deceased Jigsaw's deadly game, and now tries to preach a message of strength to those around him. His newfound strength is put to the test however when he becomes the target of a new game, one which will also determine the fate of those close to him. Meanwhile, the cold-blooded Detective Hoffman tries to settle a score while evading the dogged pursuit of his fellow officers. After so many films, so many traps, and so much of the relentless evisceration, it would be pointless to complain about the film's content, but beyond a few startling 3-D moments, and even despite a relatively short running time, the whole thing feels like a prolonged, protracted, and downright boring exercise in this tired genre. Tries to wrap things up nice and neatly in the end, yet still can't hide the fact that this series has long run out of steam, or that this project is clearly uninspired. *½