Sorry but after 3 viewings I still do not get the hype...

Rating: 2/10 (2 August 2006)

I usually rewatch films several times when the general consensus says they are good and I don't initially agree, just to see what exactly I missed (if anything). Well, I've watched Saw three times now (most recently, a few nights ago) and I am still trying to figure out what's so great about it. Possibly it is "decent" or "promising"... but classic? I just don't see it. Instead of getting better with each viewing, the problems of this one just become more and more apparent the more times you watch it.
I don't want to go on a HUGE rant but this movie is just too uneven all the way around. First off, any film that uses generic industrial metal on the soundtrack and "flashy" editing just to be "edgy" is automatically annoying out of the gate as far as I'm concerned. The general premise is fairly good (at least better than most), but the plot is full of holes and riddled with coincidences. In fact, in many ways Jigsaw's plan will completely fall apart if people in that cast don't do incredibly stupid, implausible things, which they of course do. And while we're on Jigsaw; he's basically just a less interesting version of Kevin Spacey's character in Se7en. Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell's acting was uneven, downright bad at times. And don't get me started on Elwes' wife in this movie. What a stupid twit. Danny Glover's detective character had muddled motivations to be sure, plus I just didn't care about him and was basically annoyed and bored with any of the scenes that cut away from the bathroom. The dialogue was poor a good deal of the time as well. And the ending... whoa boy, no comment.
It's cool if you love this movie. I don't want to be a complete ass about it but I just don't really understand its popularity, its reputation or its 7.6 rating on IMDb, which implies its one of the greatest horror films of all time.