Warning: Strong gore ahead

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2008)

Okay, so I'll admit it...Saw III does have an unbelievable amount of gore. Hard to believe Hostel has more gore than this. Well, anyway, the movie isn't bad at all. The critics just say it's bad because they're squeamish. Ever notice a lot of the positive reviews come from people who review really gory movies? What really makes all the "Saw" movies great is their amazing story-lines and plot twists. And Saw III is no exception. Yes, you do have to fight at times to not throw up, but the movie does exceed even with this flaw. I can't imagine of a better way to have started the film than by showing Detective Matthews break his own foot. This beginning alone is a great thrill and really pumps you up for it all. The following scenes were all shot expertly. The screenplay is great and really delivers. The film is the best it can be in my point of view and the only threequels I can think of that are better than Saw III are Halo 3 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Saw III is actually much better than most films I see. The gore can be at times unnecessary (but for short periods) and Timothy Young in the Rack was just borderline shocking, but the storyline still is great. The movie progresses quite nicely. I can also praise the camera-work. I have never really seen a lot of groundbreaking camera-work, save for Cloverfield's first person view. I really liked how the camera moved from Troy's crime scene to Kerry's house.
The film's strongest point is its suspense. When Jeff was reminded of his son's death by Jigsaw's puppet lying on the floor in a contorted position, I could totally feel his frustration. I can recall cringing at my seat when Judge Halden was being splattered with pig guts and asking myself if Jeff was seriously going to leave Halden to rot. Showing pictures of Jeff's deceased son Dylan before he burned all of Dylan's possessions was just a cool touch. The film had great suspense and twists.
The movie, unlike the original Saw, had a more crime-movie feel at points rather than an unknown killer chase on movies like Se7en. This movie and Saw II really had established a CSI-like feel with their crime scenes. And that is a good thing.
People call the Saw series overrated. Star Wars, Harry Potter and Back to the Future are actually movies that deserve this tag. Okay, maybe they had one or two good movies in those series that were good, but everything else was crap (you know who you are, Harry). Don't believe the nay-sayers, Saw III is a great film that is more than definitely worth a watch.