That's all right, Eagle. I mean, if we all loved the same movies and hated the same movies, it'd be one boring world, wouldn't it? Everyone loves variety, so it doesn't matter. I don't hate you for your review. :wink:

The acting wasn't that bad. Yeah, it was pretty weak in some spots (the only offender was Cary Elwes, and he was pretty good for most of the film), but I could find you thirty Jerry Bruckheimer produced flicks that have ten times the amount of terrible acting.

If you found it slow, that's your prerogative. I thought it was brilliantly paced.

Plot holes? I didin't really pick up on any, and i've been thinking about the film for the past two days now. The only one I could come up with is how did *SPOILERS* Jigsaw stop himself from coughing for those six hours he was in the room with them? *END SPOILERS* That just requires a little bit of suspension of believe, which every horror film asks you to do.

Not sure how you found the ending corney. I thought it was one of the better "twist" endings i'd ever seen. It didin't completely betray the movie like Village's ending did. It actually made sense in the context of the film. To each his own, I guess.

I actually didin't think it copied Se7en as much as the critics have been saying. It certainly is not as bad as films like Resurrection when it coms to ripping off Se7en. Also, I actually thought it one-uped Se7en as far the creativity of the murders go. I guess if you're going to mimic a film, you might as well do it better, eh? But honestly, the only moments that could be seen as Se7en inspired are the scenes with the detectives in the first hour of the film. It's not as if the whole film is just like Se7en.

I cannot write this damn review! It's too hard. But, I guess I must give a few comments on the best movie of 2004, thus far. So, here it goes. It's pretty obvious that I don't know the right words to describe this movie. I could throw out words like fantastic, excellent, terrific, classic, and spectacular, and it would be 100% true. I guess I just can't go into detail on why I loved it so much. It was one of those movies that really struck a cord with me. It had my attention from the first minute to the last. I never once felt bored in this movie, and it never once felt like it was dragging on. It seemed perfectly paced. Sure, the acting wasn't great. I wouldn't even say it was good. But that can easily be overlooked when you think about the rest of the movie. The whole thought of this killer, Jigsaw, is awesome. I love the concept of how he plays "games" with you to eventually make you kill yourself or hurt yourself to stay alive. I also love how his purpose is to make you appreciate what you have in life, or be thankful to be alive. Now, from the very beginning, you can start guessing. You can keep trying. You could make many, many guesses and be totally wrong at the end. The ending was so shocking, so jaw-dropping, it's fantastic. It's completely unexpected, and yet it makes perfect sense. That's pretty much all I can say. It just had my attention and kept me entertained the whole time, and left me breathless at the end.

A+- #1 of 2004 (for now)

I just wanted to post this fantastic review of Saw by IGN...

Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up underwater in a bathtub. He jumps out to find himself in a dingy bathroom, with no recollection of where he is or how he got there. When he tries to move, he realizes he's chained to some pipes. Adam has two roommates, but only one is breathing. Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) is the other unlucky individual, and he's chained to pipes on the other side of the room. In the center of the room on the floor is a dead man who appears to have taken his own life. They soon learn that the setting is a life or death game set up by a demonic individual known in the media as Jigsaw. Jigsaw is not a serial killer, per se, because he never actually kills his victims himself. "He finds ways for his victims to kill themselves," as Gordon puts it. The games are meant to make the individuals involved learn to appreciate what they have, to stop taking their lives for granted. Danny Glover is David Tapp, a detective who has become obsessed with the pursuit of Jigsaw. Through Glover's pursuit, we are shown some of the twisted scenarios Jigsaw has placed his victims in. The film cuts between Tapp's pursuit, both past and present, and Gordon and Adam's struggle to escape. Jigsaw has left them some clues as he watches them scramble to save their lives. Monica Potter plays Dr. Gordon's wife, Alison.

Directed and written by two twenty-somethings out of Australia, Saw is a focused, dark, twisted film that would be an impressive accomplishment for filmmakers twice their age. Saw was directed by James Wan, who also co-wrote the script with one of the film's leads, Leigh Whannell. Shot over the course of 18 days in a dingy warehouse in downtown L.A., it was the intense and clever script, not the dollars, that drew name actors Cary Elwes, Danny Glover and Monica Potter to the film.

Saw is everything a thriller should be. Instead of a long-winded back story to lead into our premise, Wan and Whannell move right into the thick of things. The story is exceptionally clever, revealing the characters and Jigsaw himself very carefully. Just when you may think you're getting a handle on a character or a situation, Saw throws you for a loop again and again. The intensity is constant and absolutely relentless. Much like the tests Jigsaw puts his subjects to, Saw is an endurance test. When you think you can relax and take a deep breath, it hits you again.

The interaction between Elwes and Whannell is constantly engaging. This is made so much more impressive by the fact that these characters never get to leave this dingy setting, outside of a few flashbacks. Both characters are hiding something, and Jigsaw knows them better than anyone. He uses their weaknesses against them so they can torture themselves. As the terror unfolds, both Elwes and Whannell look truly terrified. As the characters realize that this is no joke and that their time is slipping away, both actors do a great job maintaining believability through intense scenes that often would be played for laughs, especially these days.

We've seen Glover play a cop on many previous occasions, but he still brings a totally fresh performance to his portrayal of Detective David Tapp. As he desperately pursues the capture of Jigsaw, Tapp becomes one of Jigsaw's most tragic victims. Jigsaw continues to get the best of him, and Tapp has let his pursuit consume his life. Glover plays a more vulnerable character than we are used to seeing from him, and he does a great job. He's no longer the perfect cop who we know is going to win out in the end. As the story moves along, we are less and less sure exactly what to think of Tapp, or even if he can be trusted.

Now, onto the scares, and Saw has plenty of them. These are not the blood spurting, wink-at-the-audience scares of modern day horror. There's no villain spouting cheesy catch phrases as he slaughters his victims. These are legitimate scares brought on by a story which cleverly draws you into the twisted world of Jigsaw. The situations he places his victims in are scary in themselves, but Saw throws in plenty of other scares for good measure. I'll keep them to myself, but this is a good one to take a date to, because I can guarantee they'll move closer and clutch your hand by the end.

Saw is so well-executed, it's almost impossible to imagine it was made by two first-timers on a shoestring budget. At times, the performances are a little rough around the edges and could have possibly benefited from a few more takes, but these moments are minor and don't detract from the story in the least. Wan accomplishes the kind of gritty, edge of the seat thriller that the studios rarely accomplish with budgets 20 times larger and months of shooting. Saw is more than just an impressive accomplishment for two young filmmakers; it's one of 2004's standout films and the scariest film in years.

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/561/561030p1.html

I have to agree with all the positive reviews from everyone. It is my favorite movie this year and is right up their with Se7en in my mind. The acting at the end was the only part where I sat up and said wow that isn't good, but the ending made me forget that really quickly. Ever since I heard about this at the film festivals, I have been really excited, and I was not let down. A++++

Anyone know if they will release the NC-17 version on DVD? I would really like to see that version, but will still be happy with the R version on DVD if that is all we will get.

Plot Holes with Spoilers throughout:

Here are just a few cause there are to many to mention them all of the things that made me go

They are locked in a room with the killer for 10 hours, and never once do they notice him breathing, coughing, opening his eyes, or moving. Keep in mind he had to move to electrocute them, which also requires holding somehting in your hand. I don't know about you but I know if I was just captured and locked in a room I would be paying close attention to the dead man.

Slow acting poisen ... a nice little creative way to say 'we can't think of any other way to get these characters to act like this so were just gonna make something up'. Why not just go to a freaking hospital and say "hey there is a poisen in me can you give me an antedote! The guy was an orderly but the hospital never crossed his mind? Come on.

Never really explained how the killer gets shot by a shotgun in the back and then just walks away like nothing happened.

Didn't danny glover get his throat sliced ... I am pretty sure he should be dead.

The doctor just randomly goes insane ... he had been so calm to begin with, so collected, and trying to figure things out ... then all the sudden after hearing his wife and child getting fucked up he goes freakin nuts. Lets forget the fact that as far as he knows they are dead (because he has no way of knowing his wife inexplicably escapes and beats up the guy) his insanity is just stupid. And then to make things funnier, he ties his shirt around his ankle (will this help?!) and then proceeds to saw through his ankle, without any sedative, and yet he somehow manages to not pass out. Lets also forget the fact that these saw's are flimsy as hell, he has been throwing it off the wall, but it manages to cut through his foot in about 30 seconds!

Then he randomly goes and shoots the photographer, for really no reason, his wife and child are to be presumed dead, even though he for some reason thinks there alive. And after shooting the guy all hell breaks loose. The orderly comes to finish him off, and runs over to the guy he shot, kicks him multiple times, while the photogropher manages to just lay there and do nothing (something he was unable to do earlier) then goes crazy and beats the hell out of the orderly)

I love how the little girl says mommy there is a man in my room, and the parents are just like no your just insane! She asks them to check, they say ok, so I assume they do check, but they manage to not look in the closet? Why is this man letting the girl see him to begin with? Any normal kid runs freaking screaming and crying from the room as soon as she sees him. That made me laugh.

Lets not even go into how they just magically get electrocuted through there chains, or how the detective managed to go insane, yet is running around with a gun. He should be in jail for breaking into the killers house without a warrant, and then being a total moron.

The murder with the barbed wire goes totally against the point of the movie.

The whole story, so ill contrived, so filled with moronic twists, and reaching for this overall meaning that it blatently fails to acheive.

And the acting was that bad.

KJ

WOW!!

Am i the ony one who thought the acting in this movie was actually good between the 2 guys ... was I the only one who found it fascinating how the doctor started off calm but lost it eventually while the kid got his frustration out before and started to focus more later


i agree that this movie had huge number of plot holes and twists that came when needed most but .... I still loved this movie ... just for being different!

Wasn't there a scene when they discovered the camera that had the guy waving at the screen displaying the two guys, and he saying "I see you"? I'd call that a major plot hole...

I liked this movie. I think it was a bit overhyped, and I wasn't really all that scared. Only two scenes had be the least bit tense. When the little puppet thing rode in on the bike when the girl managed to survive, that was freaky, and I was scared when the guy was in his dark apartment, looking around for the guy. I gripped the arm of my chair, cause that was pretty scary. Other then that, Saw didn't really do much for me. The Grudge scared me more than this.

Good movie and all, just not as great as tons of people lead it on to be. I'd get it like... a 7/10? I dunno.

I agree with Arsi, I think the acting was pretty good. Don't have to jam it down my throat on how it's bad, I'm just saying...

And I think Eagle and makeshift both make good points. But, must be forget, that... it's... wait for it... JUST a movie?

I guess its not my type of movie, but I was let down by Saw. I thought *ducks* the Grudge was more enjoyable. I find myself giving this a C-.... just a forgettable horror flick.

A very grotesque movie and I highly recommend it. I got to give the director an A for originality although there were a few plotholes that didnt make sense so I would give the movie a B instead. Still the movie is better than I thought and it would keep you wanting to learn more about Jigsaw. Its hard for me to give out a full review without giving out too many spoilers but I would say if you are a gore fan who wants a smart movie, this one is for you. My real complaint about the movie is it doesnt tell us anything about what motivates Jigsaw to kill these people and the other issue is Jigsaw contradicts himself in the end by telling that dude he drained his key away in the bathtub which means he was going to die all along even if he kills Cary Elwes character

B

Arguing about movies is so much fun because they are just movies. There's no long lasting animosity.

Very true, makeshift. I love arguing about movies. This friend of my brother's thought Shaun of the Dead sucked, so I was arguing about that. It was pretty fun.

I am very glad that you liked it.

The movie does come with its faults and is definitely not the best thing I've seen all year. But it is a pleasant change from the cliché horrors that we've been presented with in theatres for the past 2 years and will be talked about for some time.


My grade: B+




http://www.worldofkj.com/bABA-Saw.php

What a mind fuck!

*****************SPOILERS***************************
9/10 it does not get a 10/10 because god how could you not tell that that body was not really dead! i'm hold fuck they are in that room for 6hours! nobody can hold still that long when your that sick! ******

OKay it is very m uch like Se7en but Se7en was way better. I like the whole plotline about using other peole to get to other people. I thought elwes was great! It was a good movie very thrilling. also random side note the killedr looks like my boss

Well, I am in the minority on this one.

D -- It became unintentionally funny for the last 45 minutes of the film and that's what ruined it. Also, the ending, while clever, is too clever for it's own good.

Even with my low grade, I still want to see Saw 2, just to see how it ends.

great premise, disturbing, the performances are great, awesome twist ending, I loved it!

A-

While it wasn't amazing, it was still a damn good movie. Some of the performances were terrible, especially Mr. Gordon, and the movie was actually disturbing and scary. I might see it again in theaters, but now it's the holidays, so I'm not sure how into a horror movie I will be. I loved Monica Potter in it!

7/10 (B)

You know, when I first heard about a movie called Saw and read the premise, I didn't see it being a great movie. Sure, I would have ended up watching it because I'm into this kind of movie, but I didn't expect anything great, or to the level of Se7en. Then, the trailer came out. I watched the disturbing, one- minute trailer and was left grasping for more. My anticipation for this movie went up significantly. It seemed like the perfect movie for Halloween. Then, two weeks before the movie comes out, I get an opportunity to watch the pirated copy of it because it was released overseas a few weeks before. I admit it. I watched it. I couldn't help myself. I had to watch the movie, and I didn't really care how the copy would be or how wrong bootleg movies are. It's also a decision I will never regret.

The premise of the movie is an interesting one, though it might not seem all that great until you actually watch the trailer or movie. Two men wake up in a dirty bathroom of an abandoned building, chained to the pipes on each side of the room. Yes, I know, it sounds very exciting so far. But, it doesn't end there. It's the reason why they are in there that's interesting. Of course, they don't remember what happened that got them there at first, but through the movie, the story unfolds. I won't get into all that. They soon learn that they have become the victims of the Jigsaw, a serial killer who devises situations to get his victims to kill each other. There's more! One of the two men, a doctor, must kill the other guy or his own family will be killed. So, what would you do to save your family, and how exactly will you kill the other person when you are chained to pipes on opposite sides of the room, and especially when you need each other to survive? Watch the movie, and you'll find out.

When you hear talk about the movie Saw, you often hear the movie Se7en somewhere in that sentence. No, that's not a mistake. I found these two movies to be very similar, though their stories are completely different. What separates Saw from Se7en in my eyes? The ending. As said in the caption, I was utterly shocked with this ending. It literally makes your jaw drop and makes the whole movie rewind in your mind to figure out where your guessing went wrong. It's also an ending that is almost impossible to guess, but at the same time, not a crazy one either. Obviously, I will not reveal the ending. Even if I did, it would make no sense to you, the reader, since I would have to reveal every detail of the story and what happens for you to understand, and why listen to me when you can just go watch the movie? I'll tell you why I also loved this movie so much. Aside from the brilliant ending, this movie has a very creepy feel to it. I, personally, was not scared of the movie. You may hear things such as "This is the scariest movie of 2004", and it may be true for some, but I'm a tough one to scare. So, I wasn't scared. It was creepy though. The killer, Jigsaw, has a voice that makes you freaked out, and some of the situations his victims are in can possibly make you sick, but amazed. I was the amazed one. I'm a big fan of movies like this, and even though my anticipation was incredibly high, I was not left disappointed with it. I'll admit right now that this doesn't have the greatest acting you'll see this year. Infact, it's far from it. However, that really didn't matter to me when watching this movie. By the end of the movie, it left me in a way that most movies cannot do. It's sort of difficult to describe it, but the easy way to put it is that I loved this movie. When it finally came into the theaters, I watched it once more. This brilliant piece of work will go down as one of my personal favorite movies. Did I like it better than Se7en? Not quite. Although Se7en's ending was not as shocking, Se7en had better performances and was just an overall more amazing experience. To put it shortly, Saw was incredible, and so far, my #1 movie of 2004.

My Grade: A+

Review Page: http://www.worldofkj.com/Zingaling-Saw.php

Really? The acting wasn't the best, that I agree with (specifically Cary Elwes), but I thought the ending was great. And why was it slow? That was the point, I thought. And the ending...brilliant.

(spoilers)

For the one "plot hole posted", about Dr. Lawrence and Adam uncovering the camera and the "killer" stating, "I see you"...

That was Zepp, as he had been monitering them the entire time as was later revealed.

Finally got to see it today.

One of the most horrific and disturbing films I've seen. Compelling for its underlying moral, yet also repulsive and nauseating. Brilliant ending completed one of the best independent films of late, and also one of the best horror films of recent memory.
8.7/10 (A-)