Reviews
Saw VI
Reviewed by: Jeff Allard
Rating: 7 out of 10
Movie Details: View here
Cast:
Costas Mandylor as Hoffman
Tobin Bell as Jigsaw
Peter Outerbridge as William
Shawnee Smith as Amanda
Review:
With a machine-like precision worthy of one of Jigsaw's traps, yet another entry in the Saw series is arriving in theaters in time for Halloween. After the disappointing fifth film that spent far too much of its running time engaged in flashbacks that overlapped events of the previous films, filling in the blanks on the part Jigsaw's accomplices have played, this sequel is set more in the here and now (and what flashbacks it does feature are more dramatically interesting than just revealing other angles of past scenes). Being a Saw film, of course, the story still whiplashes back and forth in time and between various plotlines, but yet Saw VI is more accessible than the sixth Saw film has any right to be.
Unfortunately, while this is a solid improvement over Saw V, at this point it's hard to not feel as though the series is too burdened with the chore of taking care of old business. Credit has to be given to screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (who have scripted the last three Saws) for keeping everything straight but one wishes that the series didn't have so much baggage to carry. There's a compellingly nasty and politically timely horror thriller within Saw VI but it keeps having to forfeiting its time to scenes resolving the storylines of the previous Saws – something that casual viewers will potentially either be confused or bored by. Maybe the producers are banking on the hope that at this point, the series doesn't have many casual viewers left and that the series' continuing characters and conflicts are all fresh in their mind.
As Saw VI begins, Lt. Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), Jigsaw's successor, is feeling pretty good, having removed a major obstacle in his path at the end of V. But stepping into Jigsaw's shoes isn't such an easy matter. Even though he set up the late Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) to be mistaken as Jigsaw's accomplice, the evidence that Hoffman left to incriminate Strahm isn't conclusive enough to shut the books on the case. Strahm's old partner, Agent Lindsey Perez (Athena Karkanis), isn't ready to accept that her partner was a murderer and is working with Strahm's boss, Dan Erickson (Mark Rolston) to go through the evidence. In the meantime, John Kramer's ex-wife Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) has opened the box that was left to her in Saw V by John's lawyer and its contents prove that when it comes to planning ahead, no one has anything over on John Kramer, aka ‘Jigsaw' (Tobin Bell). Kramer is such a forward thinker that further entries in the Saw series might have to explain that he was in fact a gifted clairvoyant.
Three films now since the character died, Kramer is once again very present in the storyline of Saw VI. His participation in the film via flashbacks is well handled, making this his best postmortem appearance yet. How further Saws will be able to keep making the character's continued inclusion feel organic will be a challenge but a Saw film without Bell is unthinkable. In Saw VI, Bell continues to make the soft-spoken Kramer a compelling character as Melton and Dunstan's screenplay reveals further details of Kramer's past. Bell has an uncanny knack for making Kramer plainly batshit on the one hand (let's face it – his method of ‘curing' people doesn't have much of a success rate to recommend it) and yet rational and reasonable on the other. He also conveys the kind of low-key charisma that makes it plausible that he could gather devoted followers like Amanda (Shawnee Smith) and Hoffman to his cause. And it's something of a small miracle (and a victory for Bell) that the character hasn't descended into self-parody by now.
In Saw VI, the main victims all work in everyone's current favorite den of evil, the health insurance industry. As someone who was faced with a terminal illness, the callous neglect of patient's claims and the denial of coverage is an issue that was, unsurprisingly, a personal one for Kramer. And as you might imagine, even from beyond the grave he would like to teach these people who hold life and death decisions in their hands every day what life and death decisions are all about. Kramer's outrage against the aloofness of insurance companies regarding the care of their clients is well timed to the current political climate and is much more compelling than Saw V's main story which had its victims linked to a crime involving real estate development. It's just unfortunate that the film has to keep cutting away to Hoffman's efforts to stay one step ahead of the Jigsaw investigation (although it's a relief that Mandylor delivers a better performance here than he did in V). Melton and Dunstan juggle the multiple demands of the storyline more deftly than in their previous two Saw screenplays but the series is undeniably encumbered by its mounting complexities.
In the director's chair, previous Saw series editor Kevin Greutert makes an impressive first time feature debut here. Perhaps due to his editing background (besides his work on the Saw series, Greutert also edited The Strangers), Greutert's approach results in a film that isn't quite as frenetic as the Saw films have become known for. And yet Greutert dutifully delivers the gore that fans rely on (courtesy of longtime Saw veteran, FX expert Francois Dagenais) by staging some of most brutal traps in the series.
For the first Halloween since its start as a franchise, Saw has some real competition in theaters in the form of Paranormal Activity – but Saw VI proves that the series still knows how to play a good game.
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Comments
Posted by: Scotti on October 23, 2009 at 12:32:59
I went to a midnight show last night, and I have to say I was impressed. The traps this time were brutal, and I was surprised that the movie was not rated for gore. Because in some scenes it was down right disgusting. Especially the ACID trap.
Posted by: ironrider on October 23, 2009 at 12:47:03
love these movies definetly will see it
Posted by: VinEasy on October 23, 2009 at 13:56:54
I saw Saw 6 last night at midnight and it was pretty bad ass. Far better than Saw 5. The underlying theme with the Insurance Company was very relevant to what's going on in the news these days and I think that brought the movie to the next level. Saw 5 is the only one I didn't buy on DVD but after seeing 6, I'm more inclined to go pick it up so that I can make the connections more clear between Saw 5 and 6. I really love how through 6 movies, the story is still 1 very distinct story line. Where one ends, the next begins. I'll probably go see this again after seeing Saw 5 once more.
Posted by: Mark on October 23, 2009 at 15:09:48
Needs to stop. Saw movies are ****
Posted by: Shane on October 23, 2009 at 15:27:27
Wait...Agent Perez is in this? Didn't she die in Saw V???
Posted by: Dan on October 23, 2009 at 16:38:26
Jeff Allard,
Please post SPOILERS above this review. Luckily I saw this movie at a midnight showing but you will ruin the Agent twist for anyone who hasn't seen it.
Posted by: Ken on October 23, 2009 at 16:41:54
Mark,
I bet you will end up seeing it anyway.
You just keep your comments to yourself.
Posted by: Blackmerkaba on October 23, 2009 at 16:43:23
No closure on Dr. Gordon. This movie answered some questions but it still was a bunch of ****. Even the traps are getting alittle outrageous now.
Posted by: Lola Wants! on October 23, 2009 at 16:43:37
Honestly, this was a really good Saw flick.
Posted by: Imoan on October 23, 2009 at 16:46:17
Question: Who is that and what trap is that on the poster? Is that even in the movie??
Posted by: Eo on October 23, 2009 at 16:47:54
i was pretty impressed with this one as well. I still think that it is unnecessary to show us so much from past films when they reveal something(we've seen them all we know what happened in other movies.) I remember being on the edge of my seat for the last 5 min for one reason. I walked into 6 knowing that either a- they would fill everything in and i could quit the saw movies with a fulfilled feeling, or b- they would pull something that would make me want to know what happens next. i wont give anything away but within 20 sec they made me say alright this is a perfect way for me to exit the series to goddamn it now i have to see the seventh..well done saw. I feel like the answered every question raised from past movies and thankfully now people can shut the **** up about thinking dr lawrence will be back. that was the most annoying thing to read in posts since it was pretty much known he was dead. The traps were brutal as hell and i left the theater pretty happy with this one.
Posted by: Eo on October 23, 2009 at 16:50:26
also i'm interested to see how they continue to use tobin bell..seems to be this movie pretty much closed the book on his character..as much as i want to see him back i dont see how they could make it believeable..except for the scene where jill leaves ..... (leaving the rest out so i dont give away a spoiler)
Posted by: Eo on October 23, 2009 at 16:54:08
...meant to say Dr. Gordon..why do people need closure on Dr. Gordon? if you remember from saw 1 when danny glover was chasing the guy..that was a long ass hallway with a lot of ladders..he is dead..why would they wait so many movies to bring him back? plus with cary elwes trying to sue the **** out of twisted and the awful things he had to say about the movie and company why would he agree to come back..why would twisted take him back..move the hell on..Dr. Gordon isnt coming back
Posted by: Token on October 23, 2009 at 21:36:21
I am hoping to see it in the next weeks!
It seems like they did find a way for the story to progress, while catching up some background work. I have seen some spoilers and it just bothered me that some characters seemed wasted!
Posted by: just sayin on October 23, 2009 at 23:58:04
just got back and WOW!!! loved it. definetly gonna see 7 now. the ending was bad ASSSSS! smart move by ol' buddy even though still got em a lil, well alot. F'IN AWESOME!!! everyone go see it.
Posted by: Blackmerkaba on October 24, 2009 at 01:32:17
It'd be so cool if Dr. Gordon comes back limping into the room and he had been killing mother****ers all along because he was forced to by him not ever seeing his kidnapped wife and daughter again. I know at this point it wont and cant happen, I am just saying... "That would be it."
Posted by: noob on October 24, 2009 at 01:57:52
yeah after seeing saw V i wanted to break down and cry and then jump up and punch the nearest mother****er in the face because it was so bad!!!!!!! then i went and saw this one... and WOW! it was OUTSTANDING compared to V. Simply brilliant except for the ending. Apparently every one else on here LOVED the ending but i didn't. Why did he have to be smart lol? At least we know for sure that saw VII will definitely be releasing and it will be amazing. hopefully. just stay away from saw V.
Posted by: Blackmerkaba on October 24, 2009 at 13:58:14
If I do recall, there was a yellow envelope in the black box that jill had and she slipped it through a door at the hospital. We never find out what it is. Could that be a letter or something for a still alive dr gordon?
Posted by: victim913 on October 24, 2009 at 18:38:44
By far, this was the best Saw movie in my opinion. I love how they pretty much took what we thought of the other movies and twisted them even further. Now i need to rewatch 3 and 5 if not all of them (except 2 cause it was so bad). I see alot of you don't like 5. The traps were bad but the plot kept a good story going. 2 was just boring but very clever with Hoffman. Back to 6, I like how they keep showing "behind the scenes" stuff from previous movies detailing it perfecttly. Going so far as to bring old characters back even if it is for 3 seconds worth of film to make it look like it was taken from that film. It had more gore than any other and a very good story line keeping flashbacks/present/charcters at a perfect balance. So for those freaks that think Dr Gordon is still alive, Now we have another person to wonder about. And a thick yellow envelope to guess about it's contents. Video? More envelopes? More games???? Brilliant
Posted by: Ian on October 25, 2009 at 01:18:51
I think it's pretty funny that the majority of people hated 5 and seem to really dig 6.....so they're bringing back the director of 5 for part 7. Why tease us with a surprisingly good sequel like this only to let us down again with the next one. The producers should listen to the fans and reviews and keep the director of part 6 on board for the next few. Because while I didn't hate 5 as much as most, it was directed quite badly.
Posted by: God on October 25, 2009 at 10:50:13
Saw 6 was exceptional. Probably my favorite of the series. This movie only increased my inticipation for 7. If it's going to be as violent as this one, the 3-D is going to take it over the top.
Posted by: MattSplatt on October 25, 2009 at 16:26:28
Saw VI was the best Saw movie yet. I was absolutely glued to the screen. The traps were amazing and INTENSE. I had no idea this would be better than the original. The movie was incredible. And Saw V's weakness was not the director, but the script. Saw V was just a setup for this masterpiece. How they are keeping all of this consistent from movie to movie is unheard of. Kudos to the Saw franchise! Terrifying!
Posted by: MattSplatt on October 25, 2009 at 16:31:27
Star Ratings for Saw Movies:
Saw VI - *****
Saw - ****
Saw II - ****
Saw III - ***1/2
Saw IV - ***1/2
Saw V - ***
Yep, I think they were all good, but VI was the best. Let's hope VII will get 5 stars as well :-)
Posted by: ElysiumBliss on October 26, 2009 at 01:15:43
Could it be that this whole Cary Elwes suing Twisted is a brilliant master ploy to throw everyone off the idea that Dr. Gordon is still alive and watching Hoffman? I mean what better way to get everyone to say "No way he can be alive if he's suing." The end result would be earth shattering to see Dr. Gordon appear at the end of the final Saw revealing he has always been around in some way behind the scenes. Saw is all about plot twisting and shock so why wouldn't the behind the scenes secrets be the same way? Just a thought of course.
Posted by: nick on October 27, 2009 at 00:46:41
i love the saw movies. end of story. loved 1 2 3 4 5 and 6 was great as well. I think they all have their own thing going on, so i guess i just dont understand how you cannot like one of them but like the rest but thats just me. ill probably go see saw 6 again. cant wait for 7 and because im sure thats going to be good. cant wait for 8
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