With Some Doctoring, Saw 2 Could Be The Next Se7en

Rating: 6/10 (23 April 2005)

Ah, Saw. From the buzz, I was hoping this would be my gory ray of sunshine. It was supposed to be the successor to Se7en. Now, Se7en is the ultimate in detective movies. Nothing of the genre could stand up to Se7en. Could Saw be what I have been waiting for?
Plot: 20/25: The killer is loose. They call him the Jigsaw Killer, because of his calling card; a piece of skin cut from his victims in the shape of a puzzle piece. He isn't your typical serial killer. He puts his victims in extreme situation where, if they don't complete his outrageous challenges, they will end up killing themselves. If they make it out, they have a much bigger appreciation for life.
His current victims are photographer Adam (Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Elwes). They wake up in a small, broken-down room chained to pipes and with a dead body in between them. They also find a pair of saws. They are each left a tape explaining what they must do. Gordon must kill Adam, and Adam must survive. If Gordon fails to kill Adam, his wife Alison (Potter) and daughter Diana (Vega) will be killed.
As they race for their survival, Gordon tells us the story of Jigsaw killer. Gordon was a suspect himself for a while, due to them finding one of his personal belongings at the scene of the crime. We learn of the previous victims, including one particularly nerve-racking one involving a reverse bear-trap attached to someone's head. We also learn of Detective David Tapp (Glover), a cop who becomes obsessed with Gordon and the Jigsaw killer.
The plot is better than most other horror movies around. There are some holes and it isn't exceptionally difficult to figure out the twist, but it keeps you interested.
Horror: 17/25: This isn't your everyday horror movie. It doesn't attempt to outright scare you. There are very few pop-outs. This one tries to unnerve you through gore and outright creepiness. In my humble opinion, it fails.
The movie is basically advertised as excessive gore city. In reality, this movie is no gorier than movies like Dawn of the Dead or Kill Bill. In fact, it is significantly tamer than those. The reason this one is usually called gorier is because it makes you think about what you are witnessing. However, when you take a look at it, it really isn't too gory.
As for creepy, this movie can be creepy at times, but really, how scary is a robot on a tricycle? It's not scary, it's just weird and stupid.
This movie isn't nearly as unnerving as Se7en. In fact, it is only slightly unnerving. Maybe I'm just desensitized, but this doesn't work too well as a horror movie. It is more intense than most other horror movies today, so I give it credit for that, at least.
Acting: 6/25: To start off, Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) has gained a lot of weight. This guy needs a job. Unfortunately, this movie just won't look good on his resume. He is TERRIBLE. He should really stick to comedy. Whannell (The Matrix Reloaded) is below average as Adam, as is Monica Potter (Boston Legal). The only good performance is that of Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) who is given the only real character as an obsessive detective. The acting, overall, is the main weakness of the movie.
Entertainment: 16/25: Saw has an interesting concept. What would you do if you were placed in a situation where your life was a pawn in someone's sick game? Would you run? Would you cry? Would you just accept it? Looking at it from this perspective, Saw is a good movie.
Looking at it from another perspective, Saw can feel very boring at times and the acting ruins the believability a movie like this desperately needs. The directing is obviously trying to be Se7en 2 (or would it be 8ight?), and it doesn't measure up. The movie is obviously going for unnerving rather than flat-out scary, but it isn't as creepy as it could have been. This movie is an underachiever.
Total: 59%: Saw could have been a lot more. I could see the potential just oozing from this movie. The plot was good, and it had a creepy style to it. Unfortunately, the acting prevented a lot of the horror from coming to life and the movie holds few surprises. With some doctoring to the formula, Saw 2 could prove to be what Se7en fans expected from this movie.