Surprisingly good

Rating: 6/10 (20 May 2005)

Imagine waking up in a strange, dirty room with your foot in a shackle, a stranger in the same predicament across the room, and a bloody, dead body in between the two of you. That is the situation Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Elwes) finds himself in, along with Adam (Leigh Wannell) in James Wan's surprisingly good second film, "Saw". Gordon and Adam soon discover that their captor is a now-notorious psychopath who puts people into horrible situations as a masochistic life lesson, the results being that most of them have died, with the exception of a drug addict who wakes up to find her head encased in a huge metal helmet that will blow her jaw apart unless she takes the key to the device out of the stomach of the dead man on the floor of the room. The real trick comes when she realizes that the man isn't dead after all, but has to kill him anyway in order to ensure her survival. The two present captives now have to follow the clues given and try to trust one another, even though Gordon's instructions are to kill Adam in order to A) Survive and B) Ensure the safety of his wife and daughter, both of whom are being held at gunpoint at their home. Trying to track down the killer is detective David Tapp, a man who has become obsessed with the case (as they usually do in these films) and, because of circumstantial evidence, believes the killer to be none other than Dr. Lawrence Gordon.
"Saw" begins abruptly, when the two men come to in the strange room, leaving the audience with no idea what is going on. This was an excellent move on director Wan's part because we know as much as the victims know at that point, and for the most part, with a few exceptions, throughout the film. There are no real scary moments, but there is a lot of creepiness that brings to mind the film "Se7en", though it isn't nearly as fantastic. The tag line for the film states "Every piece has a puzzle" and that is definitely true about the film. It is intricately done and really made me consider and reconsider several theories, because once you think you know the answer, it turns out that you probably don't. The cinematography was very stylish and flashy, (I wouldn't be surprised if Wan honed his skills as a video director before making feature films) and the pacing was very tight. The only real complaint I had was Danny Glover's performance; not that he was ever a fantastic actor, but I've seen him do so much better than in this film, so I don't know if it was an issue of direction or he's just kind of hit a wall in his craft, but I found myself rolling my eyes a bit during some of his scenes.
Overall, I enjoyed "Saw" though it's one of those films that you really don't need to see a second time because once the shocks are over with, there really isn't a whole lot more to experience upon repeat viewings. I think the fact that I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the film pushes it to a 6/10. I look forward to seeing Wan's future work.
--Shelly