more chilling than advertised

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2004)

Let's pretend the preview audience wasn't populated with juveniles who wanted to see blood instead of a good story.
Saw is a strong effort featuring an incredible ensemble cast, and Elwes' strongest work as an actor. Dimming down the "superman/british hero" side of his performances, and toning down the storybook side of his character, Elwes steals the movie away with his performance.
To give away too much of this film would be criminal. See it during the day, so you can step out into the sunlight and appreciate it all the more. That, and it will minimize the juvenile comments or chants of "SAW! SAW! SAW!" or "BLEED YOU MUTHA-" that unfortunately seemed to come from a crowd less receptive to the work on the screen than the gimmick.