DIRECTOR: Darren Lynn Bousman
WRITERS: James Wan & Leigh Whannell
CAST: Tobin Bell (John Kramer/Jigsaw), Shawnee Smith (Amanda Young), Angus Macfadyen (Jeff Reinhart), Bahar Soomekh (Lynn Denlon), Dina Meyer (Detective Kerry), Barry Flatman (Judge Halden), J. Larose (Troy), Debra Lynne McCabe (Danica Scott), Mpho Koaho (Timothy Young), Stefan Georgiou (Dylan Reinhart), Niamh Wilson (Corbett Reinhart), Alan Van Sprang (Chris), Kim Roberts (Deborah), Costas Mandylor (Detective Hoffman), Franky G (Xavier), Leigh Whannell (Adam Faulkner), Donnie Wahlberg (Detective Eric Matthews), Tim Burd (Obi) & Betsy Russell (Jill)
On his death bed, Jigsaw devises a final plot to bring meaning to a grieving father's life, whilst ensuring a doctor does everything she can to keep him alive...The law of diminishing returns usually slaps Part 3's around the face. Sequels often work fine these days, but nobody can deny that Saw II was a misstep, being neither as inventive nor as well-plotted as the original. It was just a hastily written cash-in on a surprise hit. The fact Saw III was written in a week and released just a year after its predecessor (again), doesn't bode well...
Saw III finds the villainous Jigsaw (aka cancer-ridden nutjob John Kramer) on his death bed, being tended to by his young protégé Amanda (Shawnee Smith). John refuses to die quietly, so has developed another round of sick games for more victims to endure, primarily Dr Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh), who is tasked with keeping him alive or have her head blown off should his heart-rate flat line...
To be fair, Saw III manages to keep things relatively fresh regarding the reasoning behind the gruesome torture sequences. I'm a big fan of the first film, which used the Japanese mindset for sicko-horror, but gave it a fresh American spin. It also helped that it was essentially a low-budget character-based mystery with a sublime twist in its tail. On the other hand, Saw II was just badly-acted trash with a worse set-up, horrid characters, forgettable traps and only a few effective moments.
Original writers James Wan and Leigh Whannell both return for Saw III (Wan wasn't involved with Saw II), and the result is certainly more effective, but predictably not a patch on the original. The fact is, audiences have adjusted to the film's mindset and Part III struggles to surprise. For gore lovers, the traps are a considerable improvement over Saw II, particularly a man forced to rip chains out of his own flesh, a woman retrieving a key from a jar of acid and a modern version of The Rack, which twists limbs...
Performances are possibly the best in the series, certainly better than Saw II's listless ensemble. Tobin Bell still makes an incredibly effective villain, with his angular, pasty features and whispery voice. Shawnee Smith is decent enough, given something resembling a narrative arc this time, Bahar Soomekh is plausible as a doctor thrown into the nightmare and Angus Macfadyen is fine as the film's main victim Jeff -– a man who must confronts those involved in his son's death and decide their fate...
The storyline is a decent variation on Saw's theme of embracing life by avoiding death's clutches, giving the film a better foundation other than most other horrors. But Saw III knows its best days are behind it. It may be gorier and slicker in many ways, but the mystery, suspense and freshness has dried up. Wan and Whannell craft an undemanding sequence of events to cringe at here, but even they can't resist getting nostalgic -- with a sequence of flashbacks that give fresh perspectives on moments from the previous films.
Essentially, Saw III really has nothing new to say, but it remains enjoyable hokum and a fitting curtain call for Tobin Bell's villain. The strain of creating the now obligatory "twist ending" results in a damp squib because the script tries to claim ingenuity that just isn't there.
Saw IV is already on the way, which doesn't say much for creativity and freshness, as this is one premise where constant recycling just deadens audience responses. Still, in a genre where Michael, Jason and Freddy have been allowed to stink up multiplexes for decades, Jigsaw is on something of a roll in the quality stakes.
But Saw VIII would be pushing it, guys...
