Third Installment Is Still Going Strong

Rating: 7/10 (13 May 2017)

And the gore and traps and plot twists keep going in the "Saw" franchise with part III. Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith reprise their roles as Jigsaw and his ex-junkie understudy, respectively. Bell is at death's door, so he enlists the help of Smith to kidnap a doctor to help keep him alive as he plays his last game, which presumably is the testing of an emotionally broken man played by Angus Macfadyen. So here we have multiple themes/story lines happening, adding layers of depth that makes this — and previous "Saw" movies — a level up from the many rip-offs out there.
First we have the complex relationship between Bell and Smithteacher-student, father-daughter, perhaps lovers depending on which side you focus on. Then there is the Macfadyen story: a husband blinded by rage to the point he has mentally abandoned his familywill he sacrifice everything to feed his rage and vengeance, or can he forgive and start living again? The doctorcan she snap out of her daze (induced by drugs and an unhappy marriage) to keep a maniac alive without proper medical equipment? And of course, there are the plot twists and surprise ending.
My most memorable, movie moment of "Saw III" is the scene when a man's head and limbs are held in independently twisting, vise-like devices. The key to freedom is guarded by a shotgun, and as the seconds tick by, the man's limbs are slowly turned until bones, ligaments, and tendons break and snap. Ouch!
"Saw III" does have plot holes and inconsistencies, which I refer to as shenanigans; but the clever and gory traps/puzzles, fast pace, twists and surprises, and some thought-provoking themes more than compensate for said shenanigans. For fans of this horror sub-genre, prepare to cringe, laugh, feel queasy, and have fun.
Mannysmemorablemoviemoments