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.
Saw III (2006)
Tomatometer
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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.
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
Reviews for Saw III
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.
Saw III is essentially a grim schoolyard game of 'would you rather...?' rendered in nasty vignettes.
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.
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.
Just like its increasingly wan antihero, this blood-soaked series is on its last legs.
Saw III is nasty, repulsive, disgusting -- and loaded with enough viscera to probably sell at least $30 million worth of tickets this weekend.
The question for moviegoers: Would you rather get your dose of existenz-philosophie from Dostoyevsky or a slasher flick?
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.
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
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.
The inevitable deadening effects of repetition are beginning to infect the Saw franchise, now having produced its third installment in as many years.
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...
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