Good Help is Hard To Find

Rating: Null/10 (2 November 2006)

SPOILERS
The third installment in the SAW series finds everyone's favorite unsolicited life guru Jigsaw struggling with his new help, Amanda. You see, Amanda, whom we see in Flashback dedicating herself completely to Jigsaw after having survived his games (from Saw I), isn't entirely in tune with Jiggy's altruistic vision. You see, she keeps setting up the games to be unwinnable. Bummer, that. Saw III is basically one really long (and bloody) employee evaluation that sadly, she fails.
The tricky thing about Saw III is that it's trick is less obvious. The twist is not so much a revelation as a culmination. Many people are left wondering why so much of the movie is spent dwelling on the past two episodes but if you're paying attention you'll figure this out easily. Every SAW film has told the story of the players in the game through Flashback. What at first glance appears to be "Saw: Behind the Mayhem" turns out to be the most important clues to why Amanda was chosen for this particular game.
The death traps this time out are as inspired as the first two, though probably a bit too elaborate for a deadly duo to construct. The Rack is especially stretching it (pun intended). However, the movie is smart in that it shows us that Jeff has enough time to save these unfortunate souls before that clock ticks down, but he's too focused on who these people are to keep his wits about him.
While the plot holes are numerous and gaping, the story keep moving briskly forward, leaving little time to dwell on the questions that afterward plague the brain. Like: How did Jigsaw know Jeff wouldn't die grabbing the key? How did he know that the other dude would? What is his plan B?
I think people who liked the first two movies will come around to this one eventually. It's got gore, surprises, and it's brings Amanda & Jigsaw's story to a logical conclusion.