Drummond
8 Dec 2009, 17:32
I watched Saw V first as it was on Movie One the other day as I was bored. I had only seen maybe a minute or two of the series when my brother had watched them but I had never really intended to give them a go. I'm not a real fan of horror movies and don’t like watching gore but I watched V, was intrigued more than anything else so over the past week I've watched the first four films.
Saw I was brilliant. A pretty simple plot that just delivered and the ending was terrific with Jigsaw having his ‘front row’ seat the entire time. Dr Gordon sawing off his foot, wow, so bad. The only thing I regret is that I watched the 5th film first so I knew a few things about the earlier films, especially when reading message boards (why I do it I don’t know!).
Saw II has mixed reviews; some love it while some hate it. I’ve got to say though I really, really enjoyed it. Erik Matthews was a great character, there’s no way a dad could just sit there and wait for the time to expire while watching his son die. Of course the twist at the end revealed that the detectives were watching a tape and that had he sat there and talked with Jigsaw his son would have returned to him. Loved the Amanda twist (although somewhat knew it because of the fact I read some stuff) and the recorded twist. The ending is just so chilling, when Daniel was taken down below to the exact same bathroom as the two guys from the first film, wow. And Matthews wandering around hoping to discover his son while we know he’s not going to find him. Then the very end with Matthews chained up and listening to the tape from Amanda, Jigsaw’s apprentice. Personally I can’t understand why Saw fans didn’t like this one. I struggled to watch the Needle Pit though.
Saw III, the majority of fans seem to rate this one second to the original but I was disappointed. I know they’re all gory but to me this one was really extreme, the hook trap, the black guy’s body being twisted, the pigs being slaughtered onto the judge, there was a lot of scenes that I struggled to watch. I really enjoyed the flashbacks to Amanda helping set up Lawrence and Adam and how she made her traps unwinnable. As usual, the twist ending was brilliant. The whole thing was a test for Amanda, she had the ability to let someone live which would in-turn save herself but she couldn’t do it so everyone’s lives were ruined. I guess I just didn’t have much of a connection to Jeff and his ‘traps’ weren’t that entertaining. A bit too much gore, slower moving storyline, the weakest one.
Watched Saw IV today, great movie! I’d say it’s behind the original and probably on a par with the second and easily ahead of the 3rd. Liked the introduction of the character Agent Strahm and as I liked Detective Rigg it was good to see him with a large role. I guess as a result of watching all these movies I’m somewhat desensitized to the gore as I didn’t really mind the autopsy scene. I struggled a bit with the girls’ hair being tightened and her scalp breaking but really, I thought the gore in this one was toned down a bit which was to my liking. Lots of character development of Jigsaw, if you can call it that since he’s ‘dead’, so the flashbacks of him and how he got to become such a man were terrific. Again, another top notch ending. Shattering (literally) to see Erik Matthews killed when another second would’ve meant he, and Rigg, survived. To think that Rigg wanting to save everyone was what got them killed. The realisation that Hoffman is the one continuing Jigsaw’s legacy was great, although ruined because I watched V first! A shorter movie, better pacing than III, and better characters.
So I’m now going to re-watch V and it’ll now make so much more sense. :p Even though I watched it only a week or so ago I can only remember vividly what happened because it was all so new. I remember that it was more tame that the previous films and that there wasn’t really a twist ending as such, apart from Agent Strahm’s death and Hoffman going down in that ice thingy, which we saw for the first time in Saw IV.
Jigsaw doesn't make it easy though. He likes to preach that if you listen carefully to the rules and abide by them you will survive, but seriously who in those situations would? Saw II and IV both had endings that when you watch it you think if only he had just done that, but would you have?!
I’m the kind of person that doesn’t really just watch movies and them be done with them, I like to really think about them, as I’m sure you can tell. It’s really surprising that I even enjoy these movies as I don’t think I own one horror movie and all the gore isn’t my style. However there’s something about these movies that really fascinates me. As someone elsewhere pointed out, these movies are like a jigsaw. The series isn’t a case of one movie ending and another one starting, they’re all semi related and the pieces fit. Clever franchise that is a lot more than just gory scenes. Fantastic twists, one of the best themes I’ve heard, and movies that, at least for me, make you think about what’s just happened. :thumbsu:
Saw I was brilliant. A pretty simple plot that just delivered and the ending was terrific with Jigsaw having his ‘front row’ seat the entire time. Dr Gordon sawing off his foot, wow, so bad. The only thing I regret is that I watched the 5th film first so I knew a few things about the earlier films, especially when reading message boards (why I do it I don’t know!).
Saw II has mixed reviews; some love it while some hate it. I’ve got to say though I really, really enjoyed it. Erik Matthews was a great character, there’s no way a dad could just sit there and wait for the time to expire while watching his son die. Of course the twist at the end revealed that the detectives were watching a tape and that had he sat there and talked with Jigsaw his son would have returned to him. Loved the Amanda twist (although somewhat knew it because of the fact I read some stuff) and the recorded twist. The ending is just so chilling, when Daniel was taken down below to the exact same bathroom as the two guys from the first film, wow. And Matthews wandering around hoping to discover his son while we know he’s not going to find him. Then the very end with Matthews chained up and listening to the tape from Amanda, Jigsaw’s apprentice. Personally I can’t understand why Saw fans didn’t like this one. I struggled to watch the Needle Pit though.
Saw III, the majority of fans seem to rate this one second to the original but I was disappointed. I know they’re all gory but to me this one was really extreme, the hook trap, the black guy’s body being twisted, the pigs being slaughtered onto the judge, there was a lot of scenes that I struggled to watch. I really enjoyed the flashbacks to Amanda helping set up Lawrence and Adam and how she made her traps unwinnable. As usual, the twist ending was brilliant. The whole thing was a test for Amanda, she had the ability to let someone live which would in-turn save herself but she couldn’t do it so everyone’s lives were ruined. I guess I just didn’t have much of a connection to Jeff and his ‘traps’ weren’t that entertaining. A bit too much gore, slower moving storyline, the weakest one.
Watched Saw IV today, great movie! I’d say it’s behind the original and probably on a par with the second and easily ahead of the 3rd. Liked the introduction of the character Agent Strahm and as I liked Detective Rigg it was good to see him with a large role. I guess as a result of watching all these movies I’m somewhat desensitized to the gore as I didn’t really mind the autopsy scene. I struggled a bit with the girls’ hair being tightened and her scalp breaking but really, I thought the gore in this one was toned down a bit which was to my liking. Lots of character development of Jigsaw, if you can call it that since he’s ‘dead’, so the flashbacks of him and how he got to become such a man were terrific. Again, another top notch ending. Shattering (literally) to see Erik Matthews killed when another second would’ve meant he, and Rigg, survived. To think that Rigg wanting to save everyone was what got them killed. The realisation that Hoffman is the one continuing Jigsaw’s legacy was great, although ruined because I watched V first! A shorter movie, better pacing than III, and better characters.
So I’m now going to re-watch V and it’ll now make so much more sense. :p Even though I watched it only a week or so ago I can only remember vividly what happened because it was all so new. I remember that it was more tame that the previous films and that there wasn’t really a twist ending as such, apart from Agent Strahm’s death and Hoffman going down in that ice thingy, which we saw for the first time in Saw IV.
Jigsaw doesn't make it easy though. He likes to preach that if you listen carefully to the rules and abide by them you will survive, but seriously who in those situations would? Saw II and IV both had endings that when you watch it you think if only he had just done that, but would you have?!
I’m the kind of person that doesn’t really just watch movies and them be done with them, I like to really think about them, as I’m sure you can tell. It’s really surprising that I even enjoy these movies as I don’t think I own one horror movie and all the gore isn’t my style. However there’s something about these movies that really fascinates me. As someone elsewhere pointed out, these movies are like a jigsaw. The series isn’t a case of one movie ending and another one starting, they’re all semi related and the pieces fit. Clever franchise that is a lot more than just gory scenes. Fantastic twists, one of the best themes I’ve heard, and movies that, at least for me, make you think about what’s just happened. :thumbsu: