NationStates Jolt Archive


The SAW V Review *Spoiler*

Wilgrove
01-11-2008, 21:07
So, I went to go see SAW V last night, and I hae to say, while it's not one of the best film of the series, I wouldn't mind buying it on DVD, adding it to my SAW collection. The problems I had with this movie is that it didn't really progress the storyline that much, John Cramer is still dead, there's still a Jigsaw on the loose, and one detective tried to hunt him down. Like all SAW movies, there was a "main" game being played throughout the movie, however I thought this game was weak compared to previous games played. It didn't really make anyone suffer to gain their freedom, it was only at the end did anyone really suffer any pain. Now for the Spoiler part in white below.

Detective Hoffman is the new Jigsaw, he was recruited by John Cramer after Hoffman made the pendulum trap in order to bring justice to the man who killed his sister. However, like Amanda, Hoffman's games were unwinnable, so John trained Hoffman to make winnable games. He taught Hoffman that everyone deserves a chance to live, to earn their life. Flashbacks showed that Hoffman was with John near the beginning, before SAW I.

As for the ending, I thought it was pretty weak, the advertisement said that we wouldn't believe how it would end, but sorry to say, I saw it coming a mile away. More spoiler in white below.

SAW V starts right where SAW III left off, Cramer is dead, Lynn is dead, Amanda is dead, and Strahm (one of the detective) went where all the bodies were at in the Gideon Factory and killed Jeff. Which I thought was weak, because if you remember from SAW III, Jeff was the man who was obessed with getting revenge on the man who killed his son, who didn't know how to forgive. Towards the end of III, John told Jeff that he could get his wife to a hospital, all he would have to do is trust John and forgive him for putting his wife, Lynn, in the games. However Jeff kills John with a circular saw. When he did that, John started another game for Jeff, this time he would be playing for the life of his daughter. Jeff never got to play his second game, and in V, they show the daughter being escorted out of the building. Anyways, in V, we see detective Strahm in the room where all the dead bodies were, and he found a secret door. When he opens the door, there was a tape for him, and that tape told him he could either contiune down his path, or turn back. If he turn back, he would live, if he didn't he would die. Strahm of course went on, which landed him in the Water Box trap. Which he won by sticking a pen in his throat and getting some air in before he drowned.

At the end, we see Strahm finally closing in on Hoffman who is now playing the Five to One game, and he enters into a room with a glass box with a thin layer of broken glass. The tape told him all he had to do was get into the box and live. Hoffman and Strahm got into a fight, Strahm pushed Hoffman into the box, and when he closed the lid, the box started going under the floor, and the walls started closing in on Strahm. Strahm of course died.

For me, the ending was a let down, and I don't know what part of it was susspose to be unbeliveable or suprising. Which was dissapointing for me because I was expecting a twist, which is a staple in the SAW series.

I'd give SAW V a 6 out of 10 stars. I just hope that SAW V was weak because it's a set up film for SAW VI. One more spoiler.

Jill Tuck, John's ex wife, he may become the new Jigsaw to oversee Hoffman's work. In SAW IV, the autopsy tape did tell Hoffman that he would be tested, and in SAW V, Jill was given a black box left by John. We don't know what was in the box, but I think it's John's red and black cloak and a letter telling her to carry out his work.
Katganistan
01-11-2008, 21:37
Saw V was weak because there is nothing more to say.
H N Fiddlebottoms VIII
01-11-2008, 21:57
Saw V was weak because there is nothing more to say.
Was there ever anything to say in the first place? The series was trite and insipid from the first.

That isn't too say I'm against the franchise entirely, I'll have to reserve judgment on that front until someone makes Saw: The Musical, which will include a character who plays a musical saw before being killed in the most brutal fashion imaginable, to the delight of all.
Mad hatters in jeans
01-11-2008, 22:01
I remember watching SAW 3 and i hated it, where there could have been character development there was pointless gore to somehow "scare people", don't get me wrong it's fucking scary but i spent about £4 to see an angry human butcher with an idiotic sense of justice.
The plot was full of poo, and really i walked straight out before the credits, my friends inform me i should have seen 1,2 to make sense of 3 but even they said it wasn't that great.
What this is all building up to is that i'm prejudiced against all SAW films. just pure tripe.
Gauthier
01-11-2008, 22:11
Welcome to the harsh reality of a gore franchise being milked dry into an emaciated husk.
Belschaft
01-11-2008, 22:17
Welcome to the harsh reality of a gore franchise being milked dry into an emaciated husk.

It's waht Jigsaw would have wanted.
Sdaeriji
01-11-2008, 22:25
Gorenography. I don't understand the appeal of the franchise, and I definitely don't understand how there can still be a market for more and more of these sequels.
Wilgrove
01-11-2008, 23:18
Saw V was weak because there is nothing more to say.

I agree to a point, after John Cramer died in III, that should've been the end of it. IV and V should've been prequels because of how many flashbacks they had. Hell I think IV should've been a prequel. Leave in the part about how John got his start as Jigsaw, the wife, the murder of the unborn child, John's drive to deliever justice to the guy who killed the baby, and the beginning of the games.

V could've been better if they actually moved the story along.
Poliwanacraca
01-11-2008, 23:26
Gorenography. I don't understand the appeal of the franchise, and I definitely don't understand how there can still be a market for more and more of these sequels.

It is indeed pretty baffling.

My best guess is that it appeals to unimaginative people with violent dispositions as an easy way to fantasize about chopping up everyone who's ever wronged them, but it scares me that there are enough such people actually to make those stupid movies profitable.
Mad hatters in jeans
01-11-2008, 23:56
It is indeed pretty baffling.

My best guess is that it appeals to unimaginative people with violent dispositions as an easy way to fantasize about chopping up everyone who's ever wronged them, but it scares me that there are enough such people actually to make those stupid movies profitable.

So is it just me who fantasizes about chopping people up?
It would be a good cure for overpopulation, and another thing this Gordon Ramsay talks about healthy eating, i suggest we kill him and if his meat tastes nice then we listen to what he said before we killed him.
THERE IS NO FLAW IN MY LOGIC WHATSOEVER.;)
I just wish there was something i could take to get rid of the leprechaun that tells me to burn things down.

Back to topic i agree in principle that kind of franchise is useless for entertainment, but you'd be surprised as to how imaginative some people are with the different ways you can kill people or be killed.
Gauthier
02-11-2008, 00:01
Saw V was weak because there is nothing more to say.

Gorenography. I don't understand the appeal of the franchise, and I definitely don't understand how there can still be a market for more and more of these sequels.

I agree to a point, after John Cramer died in III, that should've been the end of it. IV and V should've been prequels because of how many flashbacks they had. Hell I think IV should've been a prequel. Leave in the part about how John got his start as Jigsaw, the wife, the murder of the unborn child, John's drive to deliever justice to the guy who killed the baby, and the beginning of the games.

V could've been better if they actually moved the story along.

It is indeed pretty baffling.

My best guess is that it appeals to unimaginative people with violent dispositions as an easy way to fantasize about chopping up everyone who's ever wronged them, but it scares me that there are enough such people actually to make those stupid movies profitable.

It's just that gorehounding has become more acceptable in mainstream with films like Saw and Hostel. I figure it's related to the hit of criminally-based games like Grand Theft Auto where it appeals to people who fantasize about committing crimes and violence with little or no real consequences behind them.
Wilgrove
02-11-2008, 05:28
Gorenography. I don't understand the appeal of the franchise, and I definitely don't understand how there can still be a market for more and more of these sequels.

It is indeed pretty baffling.

My best guess is that it appeals to unimaginative people with violent dispositions as an easy way to fantasize about chopping up everyone who's ever wronged them, but it scares me that there are enough such people actually to make those stupid movies profitable.

So is it just me who fantasizes about chopping people up?
It would be a good cure for overpopulation, and another thing this Gordon Ramsay talks about healthy eating, i suggest we kill him and if his meat tastes nice then we listen to what he said before we killed him.
THERE IS NO FLAW IN MY LOGIC WHATSOEVER.;)
I just wish there was something i could take to get rid of the leprechaun that tells me to burn things down.

Back to topic i agree in principle that kind of franchise is useless for entertainment, but you'd be surprised as to how imaginative some people are with the different ways you can kill people or be killed.

It's just that gorehounding has become more acceptable in mainstream with films like Saw and Hostel. I figure it's related to the hit of criminally-based games like Grand Theft Auto where it appeals to people who fantasize about committing crimes and violence with little or no real consequences behind them.

I'm a fan of the SAW series because of the storyline, and the character development of the Jigsaw killers, Hoffman, Amanda and of course the master himself John. I do find the games interesting, but not for the blood and gore, but for the simple fact that whatever possibility that the subject thought of, John has already thought about it and planned for it. John had several fail-safe in his games. Only a genius could make a game that uses such a light touch to get the subject to do what he wanted them to do.
No Names Left Damn It
02-11-2008, 11:34
If you only gave it 6/10, imagine how much everyone else must've hated it.
SaintB
02-11-2008, 11:48
All the Saw movies in my opinion are nothing more than sensless gore fests with some kind of silly mind game plot tied in to try and make them relevant. They should have just stopped at III, and I'm being nice when I say that.
Intestinal fluids
02-11-2008, 14:40
The first was decent, after the second i learned my lesson, and the rest are just trying to saw more money out of my pocket and it isnt going to happen.
Ravea
03-11-2008, 02:06
I remember seeing the first SAW in theaters and walking out because the acting and plot sucked so much. "Well, at least there won't be any more of these being made," I thought.

WHOOPS.
JuNii
03-11-2008, 02:17
I'm a fan of the SAW series because of the storyline there's a storyline?

wonder why they never said that in the previews? all they show is people trapped and forced to do very painful things to themselves or others.

Only a genius could make a game that uses such a light touch to get the subject to do what he wanted them to do.
like say...
Undercover Blues (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108442/)
Entrapment (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137494/)
and several others that had more story to it than gore?
Wilgrove
03-11-2008, 02:25
there's a storyline?

wonder why they never said that in the previews? all they show is people trapped and forced to do very painful things to themselves or others.

Because they want to make the previews exciting and amazing so that people will go see the movie?


like say...
Undercover Blues (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108442/)
Entrapment (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137494/)
and several others that had more story to it than gore?

But did the games in the other movies have any real consequences?
JuNii
03-11-2008, 02:41
But did the games in the other movies have any real consequences?

Undercover Blues? let's see... if they failed, then a terrorist organization escapes with a powerful weapon.

Entrapment? failure = jail for the rest of their lives.

so yeah. realistic consequences. just no gore. ;)

another movie.
Big Hand for the Little Lady. a western but you'll love who's playing whom, how and why.
Sdaeriji
03-11-2008, 02:46
Undercover Blues? let's see... if they failed, then a terrorist organization escapes with a powerful weapon.

Entrapment? failure = jail for the rest of their lives.

so yeah. realistic consequences. just no gore. ;)

another movie.
Big Hand for the Little Lady. a western but you'll love who's playing whom, how and why.

http://www.wfu.edu/physics/demolabs/demos/1/1d/1d6026.jpg
Wilgrove
03-11-2008, 02:49
Undercover Blues? let's see... if they failed, then a terrorist organization escapes with a powerful weapon.

Entrapment? failure = jail for the rest of their lives.

so yeah. realistic consequences. just no gore. ;)

another movie.
Big Hand for the Little Lady. a western but you'll love who's playing whom, how and why.

Hmm, I'll have to rent them to see. Maybe their games can equal in awesomeness of Jigsaw's games.
Sirmomo1
03-11-2008, 02:52
The police should wait inside the theatre and arrest anyone who goes to see this movie on general principle
H N Fiddlebottoms VIII
03-11-2008, 02:53
Only a genius could make a game that uses such a light touch to get the subject to do what he wanted them to do.
A "light touch?" "Light?"
What is light about kidnapping someone's family, and then saying that if they fail to cooperate they will be killed? What is light about poisoning someone and withholding the antidote?
Callisdrun
03-11-2008, 02:55
I find all the sequels to the original to be pointless.
Gauthier
03-11-2008, 03:02
The police should wait inside the theatre and arrest anyone who goes to see this movie on general principle

Much as I find gorenography pointless, anyone has the freedom to watch them without being marked as a criminal or potential psychopath.

On the other hand, I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of arresting anyone who knowingly pays good money to watch anything made by Uwe Boll. Now that is a sociopathic and criminal act.

:D
Sirmomo1
03-11-2008, 03:04
Ooooh, sticking it to Uwe Boll. Risky.
H N Fiddlebottoms VIII
03-11-2008, 03:06
Ooooh, sticking it to Uwe Boll. Risky.
Some horses deserve to beaten, unto death and well past it.
SHOW NO MERCY!!
Megaloria
03-11-2008, 03:07
I'd rather watch Glitter in a vat of lye.
Gauthier
03-11-2008, 03:08
Ooooh, sticking it to Uwe Boll. Risky.

A Saw film directed by Uwe Boll? Evil.

:D
H N Fiddlebottoms VIII
03-11-2008, 03:37
I'd rather watch Glitter in a vat of lye.
That's funny, I have a similar wish: to see the cast of Glitter dropped into a vat of lye.