Sick from the disease eating away at me inside.

Rating: 9/10 (8 April 2005)

While I will admit, with several other critics, that the acting was not great, I must resort to a comment that I made in my Grudge comment. I did not come into this film expecting to see Oscar caliber acting. I came into this film expecting to be impressed with a story that I hadn't seen and some imagery that would resonate throughout my mind long after the film was over. Saw successfully accomplished this task. While I will admit that it is nowhere close to toppling the popular Se7en, it did stand on its own two fee and provide some interesting thoughts about life and the choices we must make when placed into life-challenging moments. It was classy in the way that it presented the story, staying away from the pitfall of being too gory, it instead placed more emphasis on simplicity and raw human emotions. What impressed me about Saw is that it revamped the age-old Hollywood formula for these types of films. That is what ultimately made this ending so difficult to decode. I thought I knew exactly what was happening up until the final key moments when my mind shattered and the wildly implausible became a reality. That is what pushed this film from your average "serial killer" film to a wickedly delightful noir-styled thriller.
I continue reading more reviews about the acting in this film and how under par it was. I would like to quickly mention that you are working with two of the teetering "B" to "C" grade actors of our generation. Cary Elwes and Danny Glover could be classified as 80s superstars, but as the years passed they found themselves with less and less work, thus fading their acting ability. After the Lethal Weapon films, I am not sure I have seen Glover in anything worth writing home about, while Elwes can be said that his career went down after Robin Hood: Men in Tights. So, you are not dealing with the crème de la crème of Hollywood, but instead two actors who read a story that was original and chilling at the same time and chose to jump onto the project for sheer enjoyment. While their acting is not outstanding, their effort and overall feeling of excitement cannot be matched. You can watch huge blockbuster films and think to yourself that the $20 million dollar actors are just doing it to sustain the lifestyle that they have and ultimately their performances don't seem to reach their pay scale, then you can watch these smaller, limited budget films like Saw, and appreciate the work that the actors are doing. I guess what I am trying to say is that I agree with the critics out there that the acting wasn't great, but there was excitement and appreciation for their roles, and I have to give them credit for that.
Outside of the acting, this film impressed me. The originality of the story shocked me. I thought it was going to be this unoriginal butcher/killer film, but instead it turned into this deeply thematic film about the values that we place on our lives as humans. Without giving anything away, you have to appreciate what this supposed "killer" is doing to his victims. The killer is opening the eyes of those that have taken their life and literally thrown it out the window. While I do not think that it was done in the most appropriate way, this film did allow your mind to open. Just like in Se7en when our killer is talking to Pitt and Freeman in the back of the police car, the words and ideas that are created will remain with you for a very long time. Saw was a very intelligent film that coupled gruesome scenes of violence with the apathy of human existence. To me, it worked.
I am also extremely passionate about films that allow you to discuss the possibilities of the ending, middle, or even the beginning. Any film that evokes conversation the moment is has finished, in my book, has done a great job. Now, if the conversation is continually about the negative aspects of the film, then it succeeded in making a bad film, if the conversation is about the great moments, the endless possibilities, and the deeply rooted themes that pertain to life in general, than the film was successful in being good. I despise those films that just shoot for the middle of the road, forcing you to walk away from the film or theater just not caring that you just spent your hard-earned money and time into the film. Those films are a waste in my book. Saw had, actually, still has me thinking about the different possibilities of the ending. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but I finished the film thinking  wow, but what does this mean? How did this happen? Where are we going from here? Yada yada yada  (did I just yada yada yada Saw?) I could have watched it a second time back to back just to find points that I missed. Any film that makes it exciting and interactive deserves some respect in my book  and Saw earned it.
Overall, I thought this was a much better film that I was expecting. The deeply rooted themes of human life and our choices to praise what is handed before us are strong and not often argued in film. While the acting was about average, I did not walk into this film expecting to be blown away by performances, it was the bigger picture that I was more excited about. Saw worked well as a whole, from the acting to the story, all the pieces put together brought a very enjoyable movie to the table, but if you look at them separately, you will not find the enjoyment, just random bits of chaos.
Grade: **** out of *****