| REGISTERIT'S FREE! |
 |
 |
 |
RECEIVE custom news |
|
|
TRACK your favorites |
|
|
BUILD your fan profile |
|
|
POST messages |
|
| LOGIN | SIGN UP TODAY |
|
| Anticipation Level: |
|
 |
| How excited (or not) I am to see this movie... |
|
Plot etective Hoffman is now seemingly the last person alive to carry on the Jigsaw legacy. But when his secret is threatened, Hoffman must go on the hunt to eliminate all loose ends.
Cast:Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Mark Rolston, Samantha Lemole, Julie Benz, Meagan Good, Laura Gordon, Greg Bryk, Carlo Rota.
My Thoughts:A little thin on traps but otherwise good.
Review:The "Saw" movies are known best for one thing, other than the Billy Doll video intro which states..."Hello....I want to play a game". And that other thing is, the traps. "Saw 5" is thin on traps, not as prolific or large in number as parts two and 3 were, or for that matter even part four. But the film does smarten up from the fourth movie plot wise, and offers up alot better twists...especially at the end. This fifth film is kind of a prequel mixed with a sequel.
The movie starts off with Seth (pendulum guy seen in clips), who finds himself strapped to a table, and you who have seen the clip know by now...he's told he has to put his hands into a device in order to stop the pendulum from coming down and slicing him up. He does so, but does he make it? I won't spoil it for ya, and instead will move on to what happens after which is Agent Strahm, seen at the end of part four...encountering Jeff and then firing on him, killing him instantly.
Strahm however then gets a little too curious for his own good, and ends up encountering a trap of his own. "Saw 5" basically surrounds three things. Hoffman, who after receiving a note stating..."I Know Who You Are"...goes on the hunt for who knows his secrets, Jill Tuck, Jigsaw's "woman", who gets a video recorded message of Jigsaw's final wishes, which include a mysterious box which she is given to hold on to.
And five people who are connected, and who are left to try and survive one of Jigsaw's games, which is one big trap that has four stages they all must pass. This is where Luba (Meagan Good), and Brit (Julie Benz) come into play. Compared to Jigsaw's previous traps, I didn't think this trap was all that great to be honest. But we also know now that Jigsaw is dead and gone, so whoever has taken over for him has taken the excitement of the traps down a few notches.
We learn alot in this movie which traces all the way back to the first "Saw". We learn how Jigsaw and Hoffman first met, we learn what happened during that meeting, we learn who was really doing all the heavy lifting when Jigsaw had to gather victims for his games in "Saw", and "Saw 2", we learn what life-changing event drove Hoffman to become what he is now...and we learn more about Jigsaw as well, which connects to his statements to Amanda in part three about how he "despises" murderers. This statement plays a big role in the fifth film and how it unfolds.
We also learn the fates of a bunch of past characters, which should put to rest any rumors or theories about any of them still being alive. The gist of "Saw 5" is that after what happens in "Saw 4", Hoffman surviving, Agent Perez dying, and Strahm himself nearly getting killed, Strahm begins to suspect Hoffman is somehow connected to the Jigsaw killings, and may be taking his place as his apprentice. Hoffman, after being asked a specific question from Strahm which pertains to something Agent Perez said before she died...suspects that Strahm is the one who knows his secret, and is getting too close for comfort.
So Hoffman comes up with a plan to deal with that problem. This is the films A storyline, while the five new players in the four-stage-trap are the films B storyline. The deaths are not nearly as great as they should be though. And for a "Saw" movie, where the deaths are pretty much everything, beyond one decapitation...and someone getting crushed by moving walls, we don't get alot of shocking demises in this film. But oddly enough, that doesn't hurt the movie too much because the story, the mystery, and the intrigue surrounding the characters of Strahm, Hoffman, and Jill are enough to keep the viewers interest and attention from the opening scene.
Watching Hoffman and Strahm play the eternal chess game with one another is a very gripping part of "Saw 5"s story, and then wondering how things will transpire with Jill is another gripping part of the story. Mandylor and Patterson's performances also help to make the scenes they're in work perfectly. These two are really good actors, and in Patterson's character Agent Strahm...you see a little bit of Detective Tapp from "Saw"...as Strahm becomes more and more obsessed to the point of wrecklessness with catching Hoffman.
Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton certainly put together an excellent script, a script which kind of moves away from the series extreme gore....and forces you to think slightly more than the previous installments. The twist of what the five players in the four-stage-trap all have in common is also a really cool and clever plot point. So just how does it all end?? As the previews, posters, and other promotional materials suggest? Well it ends in typical "Saw" movie fashion.
There's no big revelation involving any masks being ripped off to reveal any apprentices, new people, people thought to be dead still being alive, etc.....there's none of that, but the ending is indeed shocking...as it involves a confrontation between two of the movies main characters that had been simmering since the start of the film. And it also sets up part six nicely, by leaving one characters role in the big jigsaw puzzle still undetermined, and making one character who seems like the game player, look like the one being played...possibly.
"Saw 5" is yet another great installment of the ever-growing "Saw" series. It's not as heavy on gore and violence as the previous four films, but what it lacks in brutality, it makes up for with intelligence...more intelligence than usual.
Positives:Lots of great story-twists and turns, good performances...especially by Mandylor and Patterson, a few good deaths, strong story as usual, and David Hackl does a good job of stepping in for Darren Lynn Bousman as director...keeping with the overall filming tone of the series, but with alot less flash-editing.
Negatives:The traps weren't as creative this time around as they have been previously.
Overall:Three and a half out of four stars.
Review by Mr. HoRrOr at Horror Movies &stuff.com - http://www.hms.notlong.co
m |
|
 |
| Was this review any good? Vote YES
or NO! | Edit (Author only) |
|
|
