Pseudo-intelligent film-making

Rating: 4/10 (19 April 2005)

Hearing the myriad of hype about "Saw", I decided to rent it and see what was so great about it. After a (approximately) 2 hour viewing, I have to say that it was an insult to the audience's intelligence. The premise of a serial killer giving a chance at life to those who take it for granted is definitely a good one. The photography is also very meticulous and intriguing. But aside of those two things, this movie just plain sucked. First of all, you kind of get the idea of who is plotting everything from the beginning and the "sins" of the main protagonists. The acting from Cary Elwes and much of the cast leave much to be desired. When you finally get to the end, you realize that you have been suckered all along, but can't say it's genius because there are holes in the rationale. Not to say that I felt cheated on an intellectual level; as a matter of fact, I like films that challenge me, whether I got the killer/concept or not. The problem is that the filmmaker or the scriptwriter makes you think that he came up with a original and genius concept, but then tries to obfuscate his mistakes with an implausible, if not ridiculous, ending while trying to stroke his ego. I cannot stand this type of reckless film-making and neither should the audience.