Review: Saw 3D (2010)

SAW 3D REVIEW

Directed by Kevin (Saw VI) Greutert

Written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the writing team behind Feast, The Collector and the upcoming Piranha 3DD.

Starring Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Cary Elwes, Sean Patrick Flanery, Chad Donella, Gina Holden and Laurence Anthony and featuring Chester Bennington

Minor spoilers follow as discussing this film must come with some understanding of the events seen in the first six films.

For the past seven years, each Halloween, the theaters have been terrorized by Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) in the Saw series. It all started in 2004 when Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell) awaken to find themselves chained by the ankles to pipes on opposite sides of the same room. The trap was set.  Series creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell began the journey while others continued their work in the sequels: Darren Lynn Bousman (II, III and IV), David Hackl (V) and Kevin Gruetert (VI). Kevin Gruetert returns for Saw 3D, which is marketed as the final chapter; and so does Cary Elwes, bringing an appropriate bookend chapter to the series.

For part seven, the film centers around a former Jigsaw survivor and now successful author, Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery), who finds himself once again stuck in one of Jigsaws traps (much like the other six films – why break the mold). Meanwhile a Detective, this time Matt Gibson (Chad Donella), is hot on Jigsaw’s trail following planted leads that should reveal to both the game in progress and the killer’s location. Add to the mix feuding Jigsaw apprentices Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) and Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell as Mrs. John Kramer). As Dagen makes his way from trap to trap, trying desperately to save a friend caught in each one, Hoffman continues to mislead and evade Detective Gibson as he plots revenge on Jill who is under police protection for turning over Jigsaw’s secrets.

Saw 3D is a mess. The plot and traps are predictable, the acting is wooden and the film is nowhere near imaginative enough to stand up to the preceding films. For those who are coming to the Saw series to see gore and the outlandish, grotesque traps, you’ll find some of that in Saw 3D; but, more times than not, you’ll find a rather dull and trite exercise in boredom. Most of the traps that Dagen must endure, while still providing some suspense, are unimaginative and tired, especially the deeper he winds through them to free his wife trapped in the final puzzle. The more successful entries are outside of the main plot lines and don’t support the story in the least; they serve little more than to titillate. Even the final trap is literally a trap from a previous picture.

Costas Mandylor is given very little to do with his recurring character Mark Hoffman; it is very one-note and degenerates from a calculated killer (in previous pictures) to a madman with a knife. It’s a big disappointment that he can’t come up with something a little more creative on the fly. The writers don’t know what to do with the Jill Tuck character and Betsy Russell is forced to sit around waiting for the final battle: she sits in the interrogation room, she sits at the safe house, and she sits in a guarded jail cell. Apparently, she’s very good at sitting. Detective Matt Gibson is never given any emotion or motivation to successfully draw the audience in and Chad Donella does nothing to add to the character except storm around like a child in a few scenes. Worse of all is Sean Patrick Flanery as author and Jigsaw survivor, Bobby Dagen - a wooden actor given a wooden character. The audience is never afforded any reason to care for him and never feels enough to hope for redemption for him or the friends he cares about.

Saw 3D could have used a lot more of Tobin Bell. Other than a “taped” flashback here and a “filmed” flashback there, Bell’s character of John Kramer, is given one new, key scene when he encounters Dagen  at a book signing. It’s the film’s best scene. His dialogue is sharp like a scalpel and his presence looms over Dagen, foreshadowing the dangers that will come. Cary Elwes, too, is a welcomed return to the franchise and his scenes are highlights as well. He shambles into one of Dagen’s support groups, leaning on his cane, and his quick speech drips with sarcasm and distaste. “Do I need worry about the crazy man with the cane?” asks Dagen’s friend and “handler.” Dagen responds “No,” but the audience suspects the real answer is “Yeah, yeah you do.”

The addition of 3D is more a sign of the times than a needed addition to the series. For the most part it works really well, thankfully using the 3D camera instead of post converting. Surprisingly, the 3D was used to express depth (or lack of depth in many cases) more than to throw splatter into the audience. Whether it be Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington reaching desperately through a broken windshield for a lever that will free him and his friends or a set of blades inching dangerously close to the eyes and mouth of a trapped victim, the 3D enhances the tension nicely. From time to time the 3D is used to throw gore at the audience, which is to be expected from a blood-soaked fright film. This never really works for the movie and comes across more silly than sick or scary.

While not a good film, Saw 3D isn’t entirely unsatisfying. This entry knows what it is and remains within the established "Saw" laws and sandbox. It’s just tired, out of steam. The film benefits from a fast pace and sharp editing, never lingering on any one character or trap too long. If nothing else, Saw 3D’s filmmakers understand the beats and rhythms necessary to carry the carnage from one set piece to another. But be careful, if unwary, you still may find yourselves as confined in your theater seat as the characters are fixed in Jigsaw’s traps.

4 out of 10

Also published on Widescreen Warrior.