Saw V (2008) Reviews

• Not enough for anyone else, but fans should enjoy it for the most part.

  Otoboke2008-10-24

  In what is only the fifth film of the Saw series released over its five year Halloween run at the box office, this latest installation suffers from the same detrimental qualities that made number four slightly disappointing for fans and casual audiences alike. Making his directorial debut here, all eyes are cast upon David Hackl to see if he can either bring something new, or at least keep the momentum going for the popular franchise. The good news for some is that Saw V feels natural and consistent to its recent predecessors helmed by Bousman, yet for many others this won't be something to get excited about. Insofar as the movie itself goes; this is mostly typical Saw material throughout, going through the motions almost. This of course will please those looking for a continuation of the previous instalments, but it will undoubtedly feel too stagnant and jaded to interest anyone else. Nevertheless, for his first feature film at the reins, Hackl proves he can live up to Bousman's style that has been engrained in the series thus far, creating yet another engaging and loyal sequel that will be sure to cater to those craving more twisted games. For many fans and casual watchers of the series, Saw figuratively died when lead character and focus for the film Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) eventually succumbed to his cancer in film number three. Yet just as instalment IV managed to incorporate the mastermind into its story, as does V in the same manner; through flashbacks. Playing a game of two sides and narratives that eventually collide, Saw V first and foremost continues on where we left from IV, detailing the continuation of Jigsaw's work through forensics expert Hoffman and how he eventually has to tie up all loose ends regarding the deaths of those in III and IV. This narrative, although a little tiresome in its approach of filling in every detail and hole in previous features, nevertheless provides as the real meat of the script. Characters are again rather shallow, and motives are less than clear, yet much of this goes out the window when Mr. Bell graces the screen with his presence. As he has proved time and time again, it is within the character of Jigsaw that Saw's real heart lays, and with plenty of reminiscing going on here in regards to numbers I-IV, there's enough material and characterisation work here to satisfy hardcore fans of the series. On the other side of the pitch however is a much less character/dialogue driven narrative which focuses solely on another unlucky five as they work their way through the latest of Jigsaws traps, this time set up by successor Hoffman. For those who attend screenings of the latest Saw movies only to watch people get their comeuppance through a series of bloody and grisly tests, then this will be where your thirst is quenched. Taking on a tone that is strikingly similar to instalment two, the challenges presented here are graphic and extremely cerebral, shot in the same berserk ways so far explored in the series (although, the blending scene segment style incorporated in IV is gone) which add to the movie's intense ability to draw you in. A consistently forceful element of the series, cinematographer David A. Armstrong here follows the movie's mantra of "don't fix what isn't broke", and the film's sense of coherency and embodiment of the script's themes works just as well here as it did in previous features. Sure enough, Saw wouldn't be Saw without its morally challenging undercurrent squirming underneath all the corpses and violence, and in this regard V does well to incorporate the same subtext. Of course as has been the case with all the sequels thus far, the message isn't quite as clear here as it was in the original, and the ideas always seem to be justifying the gore rather than the other -more appropriate- way around, but there's enough here to stop the whole ordeal boiling down to a silly slasher flick with no fibre to it at all. Needless to say there are many audiences out there who outwardly oppose everything the Saw series stands for, be it involving the gore, the message, or just the tacky horror-movie-sequel feel in general. Yet as I have been witness to many the genre has to offer so far this year I can safely say that while Saw V is by no means a masterpiece nor as significant as its first production, it still beats out most of the competition by quite some distance. In the end, the entire ordeal feels more like an add-on; a tid-bit of flavour designed to tie up the loose ends left dangling from all the other features, and in this respect V will feel a little underwhelming; even to rabid fans of the series. And yet, it's the fans that will make up most of Saw V's audience. I recommend V, but only to fans, and only because there's hope that VI (which the door is left wide open to here) might get the ball rolling again and begin to tell a new story. So by all means, if you can appreciate the series' unmatched ability to make you squirm, to have you question your moral code, and to fascinate you with its lurid, engrossing world made of cogs, puzzle pieces and of course, saws, then you can't go wrong here. Saw V is everything that fans of the series as a whole will want, but a lack of progression in narrative and its disregard for relevancy to anyone outside of its core audience inevitably cuts it short; not enough for anyone else, but fans should enjoy it for the most part.

• A stumble, but still on mission.

  Bloomer2008-10-23

  I watched Saw V with a good opening night crowd here in Sydney. I've enjoyed all of the Saw films, predictably liking some episodes a lot more than others, and Saw V is, again, very watchable, with some intense moments and no shortage of grisliness. But I'd still say it's the weakest entry in the series to date. The trouble is that the main narrative addition for this episode, which has to sustain half the running time, turns out to be a dramatically weak one. I don't think a Saw film ever previously failed to create excitement or new meaning via one of its big twisty revelations, but Saw V's add next to nothing. The knowledge gained doesn't force any re-evaluation of the past events it concerns; you just see and know a bit more about them, and to no great effect, except for the fact that Tobin Bell's performance is always compelling, maybe even more so when he's talking to people who aren't stuck in Jigsaw's deathtraps. The Saw films have demonstrated an unfeasibly high success rate over time in terms of pulling off twist after twist and having them nearly all hit home. With this track record, it seems inevitable that there'd be a significant stumble at some point. They've never been bulletproof films (and thrillers are the genre that are hardest to bulletproof), but I'd say Saw V is definitely the stumble. In spite of this, it still keeps in enough with the series in general for me to be ready for Saw VI in 2009 - which I hope will be better work.

• Saw 5 - One pointless prologue to Saw 6.

  ruddaga2008-10-23

  **Review Written With Possible Spoilers** So i just saw Saw 5. And how to sum it up.. I think my brother summed it up best as "One long ass prologue for Saw 6." Now i remember the first saw being one of the best films I've ever seen. Saw 2 was a major let down to me.. it was just too random and didn't have the calculated brilliance of Saw 1. Saw 3, i actually didn't mind, just because i found it more interesting then Saw 2. Saw 4 was pushing it but i kept on watching just cause all the little questions that had built up over the series had to be answered otherwise i couldn't sleep at night.. So we come to Saw 5... And what HUGE revelation do we get in this movie? ...... Well... actually we don't get one. Oh sure there is the back story of how Hoffman became the new saw killer.. But its so cheesy that a 6th grader could've strung it all together. And the story isn't...well...Good... There is no twist (none... NONE..).. And the entire movie we just see an agent going from scene to scene of the old Jigsaw crimes.. and somehow imagining how they all happened... by just standing there (and self narrating the past events..). There is a sub plot involving a bunch of 5 other subjects.. but if you don't pick how that ends after jigsaws "i wanna play a game rant" Then you've obviously never watched a saw movie. (**major spoiler** -also the 5 people in that subplot game didn't seem to mind killing each other at any given chance as well.. Not to mention it was random as.. the literally just turn on each other without giving reason.. then at the end instead of killing each other they decide to work together... it didn't really fit with the characters that we had been shown through the movie... Im surprised that the guy didn't shove the girls arm into the trap after finding out she was the one who set him up for the murder of the 8 people.. He just goes "Its your fault I'm here... But hey.. lets work together... Umm... OK...). OK.. So lets ignore the terrible story that doesn't go anywhere (not to mention the B grade acting..) So we come to the traps... Saw 3 + 4 mainly rode on the fact that the traps got more and more gore filled then the original first movies.. And that helped carry them a bit since the story was semi lacking... So I'm confused why every trap in this movie... Is... Well lame.. We see a guy get sliced in half lamely.. A girl lose her head.. Some dude blown away without seeing anything.. Girl stabbed in the neck.. and a couple of people bleed a little out of their arms (probably the most violent scene in the movie..) Maybe the other titles have desensitized me to gore and violence.. But it was all quite tame in comparison. Plus the lame attempt to fill half the movie with Flashbacks just to have jigsaw in the movie (while its nice to see Mr Tobin again..) just seemed like a massive time filler... Which sums this movie up nicely. Its just a filler. No questions are answered in this one... Apparently there is some huge underlining plot that we still aren't privvy to because the producers want to milk it for all its worth for at least another sequel. And you know what.. I'll see the damn sequel just cos i want to see how the series ends.. Which we all know is going to end with Hoffman getting killed by Gordan who will be the final new Jigsaw. We all know thats where its heading.... ;)

• You won't believe how it ends? yeah right!

  tom_lewis862008-10-25

  Of all the SAW films so far this has to be the worst! Where all the others had twists you could never see coming or endings that nearly everyone was shocked by this film was a massive letdown. There was no imagination going into the traps in this film. They were nearly all as gruesome as possible with no real thought going into making them all seem different. They just seemed like nothing made any of them different or original. The size of some of the contraptions were ridiculous and totally unrealistic to have been made by any less than a team of probably half a dozen engineers. The SAW films have gone from being shocking but realistic situations like two men handcuffed to radiators in a room to completely far fetched unrealistic situations. As a huge fan of the series of films I was bitterly disappointed when the credits started to role and I just sat there thinking "was that it?!" Honestly this will ruin everything you love about the SAW films, if you love the rest then go and see it just to say you've seen it and so you can just get the tiny little bit of the story this film adds to. If you've never seen any SAW films before go and see ANYTHING but this film. I know this just sounds like a rant about how much I hated this film but if you've seen the rest, go and see it and I really think you'll agree with what I'm saying. Shockingly bad is my final thought! a real letdown in every way! -tom_lewis86-

• Very Acceptable

  zegrosowl2008-10-24

  To say the least, I was NOT disappointed. I enjoyed the film as much as I thought I would. Going in, I had some doubts, what with a new director and this being a fifth installment in a horror series (they usually start sucking by the 3rd). As soon as the opening credits start, you can already tell that a different director had his hands on the project. Acceptence doesn't take long to sink in though. As expected, the film meets the typical Saw requirements. Multiple traps and more revealing back-story. Simply put, Saw V should not disappoint the loyal Saw fan. I know I'll be back for the next installment with bells on. Seeing that this is the fifth film, you simply MUST see 1-4 in order to truly understand all the flashbacks. I don't want to give anything away, so all I will say is this: The very last trap in this film is one of my new favorites. . .