(2010)***
As with its predecessors the latest SAW film involves a series of torture traps masquerading as cautionary tales against unethical behavior and selfishness. In this installment we are introduced to Bobby Dagen, a motivational speaker and the author of a popular book about surviving one of Jigsaw’s famous “games”. Although his book has brought him much fame and fortune, Bobby harbors a secret; he was never in one of Jigsaw’s games. This does not sit well with rogue cop Hoffman, who has taken up the mantle of Jigsaw’s cause (over the past few films). Bobby is soon kidnapped and is informed that he must survive a series of difficult challenges in order to save his wife. Along the way he learns life lessons and becomes a little wiser.
I am not a SAW apologist. I know people either love or loathe this film series so I’m going on record emphatically stating, I dig these films! If you like one SAW film you generally like them all. If you’re repulsed by the very idea of them than SAW 3D is unlikely to sway your opinion. Taken together the 7 clever films comprise of one continuous, sometimes confusing story that pits bad people against lethal, time-limited challenges (traps). The traps are just as fun as always, although I feel like some of them would be impossible to beat - I don’t think Jigsaw always plays fair. The motivations of Jigsaw’s minions don’t really matter at this point as the real treat is to see people attempt to beat Jigsaw’s twisted challenges. SAW 3D offers nothing new beyond an additional dimension, but if you enjoy these films for what they are you will have a fun time with this installment.
What would it cost to rent this place out?
A while ago we had a fun discussion about the “madman’s lair” - specifically that it would be virtually impossible to create places like Jigsaw’s torture chambers without considerable money and scores of people who are experts in the areas of physics, chemistry, carpentry, plumbing, electricity, etc. Whenever I watch one of these films I find myself pondering what it would realistically cost to create any one of Jigsaw’s traps. Unless you are a billionaire, who ignores zoning laws and safety codes, and has a team of scientists working around the clock for years, it is unlikely that you could set up the elaborate “tests” seen throughout the SAW films. I know, I know, “Shut up JPX, they are just silly movies!” I can’t help it, I think about this stuff.
4 comments:
"a series of torture traps masquerading as cautionary tales against unethical behavior and selfishness."
I like that you used the word "masquerading" there, as I've always held Jigsaw's attitude as the ultimate in bullying, because bullies love to make their victims feel like the abuse is their fault. (In the book Fortress of Solitude, in which the narrator is the target of daily bully shakedowns in 1970s Brooklyn, this is beautifully referred to as "the tilted logic.")
Nice breakdown of Jigsaw's real-world staff, too. I think for me it was his intricate knowledge of poisons that crossed the reality line. It's just not that easy to precisely drug people!
Someday I will see the second half of this series and finish my essay of complete Saw franchise spoilers. You can see the first half here (scroll almost all the way down).
I stopped watching at part 3 but I can't remember why. I think I'm ready to comb through them all. So is the series really over? I refuse to believe it.
I'm certain the slew of people it would take to create the lair would be paid off very well. And assured that their families would not fall victim to Jigsaw's antics. Just as an example, the computer company IBM was hired during WWII to program computers to document Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, etc. at various concentration camps. IBM would deny it now, but if any of their computers broke down on site at these camps, a staffperson would have to fix it manually.
I reluctantly watched Saw 2 and couldn't stand it. I will still rave about the first Saw movie because a)Cary Elwes from Princess Bride is in it and b)when Roger Ebert reviewed it he compared it to a play that relied more on character development than on gore. I'm willing to see the other movies and how the Jigsaw story pans out. I think that to date the Saw movies are the only exercise in torture porn that I've watched.
I stopped watching after the third as well, I just got bored with them. Maybe I'm not giving them a fair shake, can't say. A Saw marathon is on the list for some future Horrorthon.
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