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Movies / On DVD / Saw III
Saw III

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Saw III (2006)

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Reviews Counted:80

Fresh:20

Rotten:60

Average Rating:4.1/10

Consensus: Saw III does little beyond repeating its predecessor's tropes on a gorier level.

Rated: 18

Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:27-10-2006

Synopsis: In 2004, a low-budget horror film about a man who put people with moral failings into grisly, murderous situations became a huge hit. In 2005, the sequel scored again, upping the body count and the... In 2004, a low-budget horror film about a man who put people with moral failings into grisly, murderous situations became a huge hit. In 2005, the sequel scored again, upping the body count and the terror. In 2006, the franchise continued, with plenty of gore as well as an emotional story line that delved into the psychological makeup of the main characters. As SAW II concluded, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) was dying. But that doesn't mean his penchant for playing games of torture and violence is ending. In SAW III, the murders start occurring again, and Kerry (Dina Meyer) is back on the case, although she thinks this time it might be the work of a copycat. She's only partly right: Amanda (Shawnee Smith), the only victim to have survived both movies, has joined Jigsaw as his apprentice, leading the way through a terrifying game involving Lynn (Bahar Soomekh), a doctor in an unhappy marriage, and Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), a distraught man who is having trouble getting over the loss of his son (Stefan Georgiou) at the hands of a drunk driver. Amanda has captured Lynn and placed her in a neck brace that is linked to Jigsaw's heart monitor; she must keep Jigsaw alive or else the brace will explode. Meanwhile, Jeff is sent on a dangerous journey on which he faces all the people involved in the light penalty his boy's killer received--and it is up to him whether he will seek vengeance or offer forgiveness. Helmed by SAW II director Darren Lynn Bousman and written by original SAW screenwriter and star Leigh Whannell (with a story by Whannell and SAW director James Wan), SAW III is an intricately designed, gruesome thriller with a hard-driving soundtrack featuring songs by Slayer, Helmet, and All that Remains. [More]

Starring: Tobin Bell, Angus MacFadyen, Dina Meyer, Shawnee Smith

Starring: Tobin Bell, Angus MacFadyen, Dina Meyer, Shawnee Smith, Alan Van Sprang, Costas Mandylor, Barry Flatman, Lyriq Bent, Bahar Soomekh, Franky G, Donnie Wahlberg

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell
Story: James Wan
Producer: Gregg Hoffman, Oren Koules, Mark Burg
Composer: Charlie Clouser
Studio: Lions Gate Films

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Saw III

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

As much as you’d like the characters to become better people and beat Jigsaw’s game, there is also a strong desire simply to watch violent spectacle. And somehow, there just isn’t enough of the latter.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
10/31/06
Stina Chyn
Stina Chyn
Film Threat

There's a reason that this series has exploded at the box office while other sequels wither on the vine -- and it's not just because of the perpetually rusty torture devices.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment 3 Comments
10/30/06
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
Cinematical

Saw III is essentially a grim schoolyard game of 'would you rather...?' rendered in nasty vignettes.

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
10/30/06
Mark Pfeiffer
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

It's Halloween again, time for another installment of When Really Bad and Disgusting Things Happen to Mildly Irritating People, better known as the Saw series.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
10/30/06
Alex Markerson
Alex Markerson
E! Online

Tedium eventually sets in again, the movie's murky visual schema and overly aggressive editing style marring any attempts at subtlety. Worse yet, the Jigsaw Killer remains a smug, unscary bore.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
10/30/06
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
Globe and Mail

More gore is really all III has to offer.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/30/06
Michael Ordoña
Michael Ordoña
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Just like its increasingly wan antihero, this blood-soaked series is on its last legs.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
10/30/06
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

Saw III is nasty, repulsive, disgusting -- and loaded with enough viscera to probably sell at least $30 million worth of tickets this weekend.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
10/30/06
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

The question for moviegoers: Would you rather get your dose of existenz-philosophie from Dostoyevsky or a slasher flick?

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
10/30/06
Tirdad Derakhshani
Tirdad Derakhshani
Philadelphia Inquirer

Do you want to play a game? How about a really long, convoluted game that leads nowhere? The scariest thing about Saw III is how it seems like it's never going to end.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment 2 Comments
10/30/06
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger

Ee'll just entertain you by mentioning such extraneous details as a human skull being opened and probed, a naked woman being frozen to death, a man drowning in the ground-up carcasses of dead pigs ...

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
10/30/06
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

The premise is bogus to anybody with all their albumen intact.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
10/30/06
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

As the creators of The X-Files learned and the people behind Lost are going to find out soon, you can only jerk around an audience... for so long before they start screaming in frustration and move on to something else.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/30/06
Peter Hartlaub
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle

A bigger problem lies with Leigh Whannell's script, which utilizes so many flashbacks and explanatory inserts that the tension, a defining feature of the first Saw, is lost.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 3 Comments
10/30/06
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What's remarkable about these movies is how much the craftsmanship degrades with each episode. This is a long, scrambled, indifferently made affair. There's no rhythm to the sequencing.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/30/06
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

A movie of its moment even as it borrows from so many that have come before, Saw III conjures all manner of torments, displayed for you as they are for its virtuoso showman.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
10/30/06
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Saw III is duller than a plastic steak knife.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
10/30/06
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

The inevitable deadening effects of repetition are beginning to infect the Saw franchise, now having produced its third installment in as many years.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
10/30/06
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

My bloodlust has been sated and the sun will rise tomorrow.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
10/29/06
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

One of the worst movies thus far this year.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
10/29/06
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for Saw III

October 19, 2009: See Saw with Alex, Day 3: Saw III
Set six months after Saw II, Jeff (Angus Macfayden) is bereaved with the loss of his son, killed by a drunk driver. He's kidnapped and put through a battery of tests, wandering... More...

November 09, 2007: Ending Already Written for Saw V
The biggest thrills of the Saw movies are their surprise endings, which seem to keep audiences guessing even more than M. Night Shyamalan's latest creations. That's why the... More...

November 08, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Fred Claus is Coming to Town
Vince Vaughn and Tom Cruise go head to head at the North American box office this weekend with their latest releases. The dodgeball champ goes for holiday laughs with Fred Claus... More...

November 07, 2007: Saw V Still On Track for 2008
Saw IV is the fourth Saw film in as many years. After reports that the Saw franchise would finally take a year off, producer Mark Burg countered that he's still aiming for... More...

See All

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