I squirmed. I had morbid admiration for some of the death contraptions. I cheered when Jigsaw got the upper hand after an inevitable challenge. The film hit the usual marks I’ve come to expect in the Saw franchise. Nothing that really stands out though. It was great to see Tobin Bell reprise his role as Jigsaw.

B

I like how they tried something different with Jigsaw himself being the protaganist rather than one of his victims or someone who is investigating him. They even took a long time to set up why this particular group of people deserved to play his game, and why he and Amanda were being so up close and personal about it. They tried and nearly succeeded at making him relatable and sympathetic.

However, with all that in mind, what really bugged me is that this new audience-friendly Kramer makes games that are quite unfair. Even when he was alive in the original all the players had a chance to live. Here, everyone completes their goals, does whatever he asks, and then end up dying anyway. They bring a real villain this time ... so like why not have her sabotage them all or something? Instead she is extremely helpful, coaching the others through their ideals, until at the end shes all like "mehhhh they were loose ends I was gonna kill anyway." Plus the ending scene drags on forever since its so obvious what the twist is going to be.

So yeah, the fact that they tried so hard here makes it better than all of the Saw sequels (except 2 and 3 ... and maybe Spiral) which were clearly manufactured just to keep the annual dough rolling. Yet seeing them almost hit only to blow it makes me feel like I was in a jigsaw trap for two hours, completing my tasks and then watching the timer run out anyway.

5.5/10ish

Flava can stfu. This was a perfect "Jigsaw is the anti-hero we need". This one falls under revenge porn and one of the better films
B+

This film just proves they shouldn't have killed Amanda at the end of Saw 3.