Good story with some really bad acting...

Rating: 6/10 (30 October 2004)

*PLOT SPOILERS*
Two men wake up in a barren room, chained to pipes, unable to remember exactly how they got there. Adam (Whannell) is a young photographer. Dr. Gordon (Elwes) is a successful physician. Another man lies in the middle of the room in a pool of his own blood apparently from a self-afflicted gunshot wound to the head. Adam & Dr. Gordon soon discover that this is the work of the Jigsaw killer, a murderer who specializes in building elaborate plans for his victims to kill themselves or others. While Adam & Dr. Gordon attempt to escape from the madman's deadly game, Detective Tapp (Glover) and Detective Sing (Leung) search for the Jigsaw killer. Soon, we discover that Adam & Dr. Gordon are somehow connected and no one is as they seem.
Whannell co-wrote the story along with director James Wan. The plot of "Saw" is superb with interesting plot twists, nice shock moments, and is nicely structured. Likewise, Wan does a good job of painting the picture very dark and disturbing. Also, Wan does a fine job of portraying the "room" as being utterly bleak and seemingly inescapable.
However, the acting in "Saw" is the ultimate downfall of the film. Whannell does a decent job of adding humor to the movie but is not very good in the scenes in which he is intended to show deeper emotions. Elwes is absolutely terrible towards the end of the movie. He completely fails to pull off the movie's most demanding scenes which comes towards the end of the film. Glover and Leung are OK (and they have decent chemistry), but they are both under-used in the story. Potter is nothing special in this movie.
Overall, "Saw" is an excellent story, is directed nicely, has some good twists, and establishes a very disturbing atmosphere. I just wish the acting had been even remotely up to par.
GRADE: C