Review of Saw III (2006) by Russell G — 08 Nov 2013

It is unfortunate to see such a good villain and fresh premise go awry. Any attempts to smoothly transition from the previous movies are forced or completely botched. The last movie leaves you hanging, wanting to know what happens to Detective Matthews next.

Unfortunately the first 20 minutes do nothing but wipe the slate clean and disconnect from all of the good groundwork and momentum of the series. In the place of tight writing are larger doses of even more brutal games.

These games lose their impact when there is no connection to the victims or when there are three in a row to start the movie with no context. Angus Macfadyen plays the main victim this time, but his acting is atrocious.

He is unconvincing as a grieving parent and as a depressed lost sole bent on revenge. I liked Shawnee Smith in the second movie, but this time her character, Amanda, is very different. Bad writing disappoints here, as her behavior and actions are in direct contradiction of her well written character in Saw II.

Tobin Bell is the only reliable constant from the first two movies. Sadly his cancerous condition is taken way too far, with a distracting side story where he kidnaps a brain surgeon. This third film has no continuity or consistency with the first movies.

Worst of all, it lacks the discipline, intelligence, focus and smart storytelling of the previous installments. It is a complete disappointment in terms of its writing, and not worthy of the Saw title.