More Of The Same - in a Bad way.

Rating: 3/10 (30 October 2006)

I don't expect this review to change anyone's mind about seeing the film - if you like the "Saw" franchise you're going to see this movie as well - no review will stop you. But, as one who has seen every installment, I found this incredibly disappointing.
First and foremost, the very premise of the franchise, (damn thin to begin with), is made even more thin, while at the same time nothing new is introduced. Nothing. There is no new creative twist, just once again Jigsaw (through his protégé') getting all preachy to a new host of victims about how they had "every advantage" and didn't live up to (his) expectations, so now he's going to teach them something-or-other.
In this film in particular, Jigsaw rings rather preachy and even more so, absolutely hypocritical (for instance, Saw puts the main victim through the paces to teach said victim "how to forgive" - great lesson coming from a guy who blames the world for his terminal illness. Doctor, heal thyself!). Of course (not that this was different in Saw I or II) gore replaces horror, and there is absolutely no suspense. Given the story-line, I'd even call this one "dull" - even by comparisons to I and II. I was actually leaning my head on my hand, much of the way through - it is indeed a maddingly dull plot.
The film-makers definitely believe their audience is a rather stupid lot. The whole background is re-told more than once, with a liberal amount of repeat footage. Your average film-goer can make the connections in Saw III but apparently the directors thought we needed a Cliffnotes encapsulation.
So again, not like anyone looking forward to this movie is going to change their minds, but don't expect anything new, don't expect creativity, don't expect suspense or horror. Expect a few clever (apparently Jigsaw holds an engineering degree from Carnegie Mellon or something) torture devices and the same, re-hashed storyline, driven into the ground as well as into the audiences' heads, the dullards we are.