The rules have been broken...

Rating: 7/10 (28 October 2006)

Fans of the first, rejoice. The third installment in this series ensures that those of us who've hung on for the hellish ride were not disappointed.
The movie's opening sets the stage for a gorier, more in-your-face adventure than the previous two.
Saw III's successes are many. It manages to twist, as the others have done so well, several emotional stories together around the iron rod of grisly death. It succeeds, yet again, in tossing the viewer around the canvas of the film, leaving them, up to the closing quarter of an hour, mostly clueless, thoroughly disturbed, and oddly satisfied. Its biggest accomplishment may be that very end, however. Once everything has come to the surface, the movie turns itself upside down, leads into some shocking discoveries and leaves the viewer with a pleasant haunting sensation. For those members of the audience who pride themselves on being able to figure things out: Stop trying so hard. Saw III will slip around your defenses and deliver an unexpected twist.
The amount of gore and violence is unnecessary and draws away from the film at points (The "operation" comes to mind). Understanding that this is a violent film going in, I found myself disturbed and removed from the plot in places. A few of the challenges were more trivial than in the past (The scene with the vat stands out). A final, more mild disappointment was the acting. Macfayden's portrayal of Jeff was bland, lifeless, and unrealistic at times. The film's dialogue was predictable and dry at times, but regained its footing in key places to keep the viewer mostly immersed.
That being said, fans of the first two will enjoy themselves immensely with this one. Those not too eager to continue on after Saws I or II may find themselves uncomfortable and out of place and may want to wait for a video release.
Feelings aside, Saw III is an enjoyable way to spend an evening. 7.4/10