Saw III Movie Review
Date: May 28, 2008
Summary:
Saw III was released in 2006 and was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II). The movie stars Tobin Bell (John Kramer aka Jigsaw), Shawnee Smith (Amanda Young), and Angus Macfadyen (Jeff Reinhart).
The movie starts takes place six months after the events of Saw II. The storyline revolves around Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) and Jeff Reinhart (Angus Macfadyen). Denlon, a doctor, has been kidnapped to save a dying Jigsaw while Reinhart has been kidnapped to face a series of traps that directly relate to the death of his son. Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) faces a challenge of her own as Jigsaw prepares to hand down his legacy to her as he is facing his own demise due to cancer.
Review:
Being a fan of the Saw franchise, I expected nothing less than perfection from this film. I am happy to report that my expectations for this sequel were almost met.
Firstly, I will state that this movie (like a majority of movie sequels) fails to meet the quality of the first film. However, Saw III is much improved from Saw II, with a deeper storyline that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Unlike the previous two movies, this one takes a different direction as it focuses more on the actions of Amanda Young than on the actions of Jigsaw. Due to this, you get to experience a different angle of Jigsaw’s game. This opens the opportunity for conflict between Amanda Young and Jigsaw, which is one of the several factors that fuel this movie to its exciting conclusion.
This edition of the Saw franchise is very gory compared to the first two movies. Additionally, for the first time in the Saw franchise, there is a scene with nudity. The traps are well prepared, as usual, but they usually fail to be as impressive as some of the traps from previous installments of the franchise.
As far as the story goes, Saw III exceeds in the plot twists that fuel the story from start to end. The relationship between an unstable Amanda Young and Jigsaw combine with the struggles of Jeff to let go of his son and of Lynn to do her best to save the ailing Jigsaw. The story is the reason as to why I am rating this installment as high as I did, otherwise the film would easily be rated in the 3.0 - 3.5 range.
If you are a fan of the Saw series, then you will definably need to go watch this film. If you have not seen the other two movies, then you need to watch them before watching Saw III. If blood and gore movies are not your cup of tea, then you need to stay away from this movie.
Final Rating: 4.0 / 5
