Saw III Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: As Jigsaw lays on his deathbed, the father of a slain son must decide whether or not to save those he feels were responsible.

Review: Originally intended to be the final film and concluding chapter of a trilogy, they went all in with the production of "Saw III." The gore is increased, the traps are more elaborate, and the story is given a needed layer of depth while focusing on the relationships between all the characters. As such, this entry possesses the longest running time in order to expand those ideas. Rightfully so, this was also the most successful installment and my personal favorite; although, it is a close call with part 4.

In order to go balls to walls, the design of the game had the main character, Jeff, run a gauntlet of traps. Jeff's son was killed in a car accident, and Jeff has imagined seeking revenge on the various people involved. Jigsaw has set these individuals into traps that force Jeff to intervene or to let them die. I liked this moral dilemma, and it is an original concept unique to this installment. While Jeff makes his way through the gauntlet, Amanda has abducted a surgeon, named Lynn, to help a dying Jigsaw. We come to learn that all of these people, including Jigsaw and Amanda, are pieces in one final game to test everyone involved. More importantly, despite Amanda taking over Jigsaw's role, she is creating unfair traps whereby the participant dies regardless of their ability to escape the situation; one such victim of Amanda's trap is Kerry who had a good three film run.

The story focuses heavily on Amanda and Jigsaw's relationship of apprentice and, I guess, Sith lord. I suppose you could say Amanda was in love or was obsessed, but Jigsaw saw her more as a hopeful protege--someone that he had hoped understood his bizarre morality. It doesn't stop there as we get a better insight into the victims like Jeff and Lynn's personal lives and their loss. These additions certainly made the story feel more engaging and interesting compared to the previous and subsequent entries. A few more of the gaps are filled in regarding the shenanigans of the first "Saw." We see that Jigsaw used a kind of sedative to appear dead in part 1, Amanda was the one to shut the door behind him, and that she was the one getting him medical supplies to stay alive with the cancer. Believe me, part 1 introduced so many contrivances and plot holes that they were still explaining them away even into part 4.

As the film reaches its climax, we learn that Jeff and Lynn are actually husband and wife. The main goal of the game was to see if Amanda was worthy to take over for Jigsaw, but she failed her test. Amanda shoots Lynn, Jeff kills Amanda, and Jeff kills Jigsaw not realizing that Jigsaw's life was connected to Lynn's trap. With Lynn dead too, Jeff realizes that he also failed his test in which we discover Jeff's daughter has been captured by Jigsaw. It would have been nice to see Jigsaw beaten at his own game, but you could kind of tell they wanted to leave the door open for more sequels if the fan's demanded them. Coming as a shock to no one, they did continue to make more films. As for the details left open...we have Mathews' fate left uncertain after Amanda struggles to kill him. Dr. Gordon is further teased, Amanda is given a strange letter, Jigsaw swallows a tape before dying, and we are shown a brief flashback to the Jill character as Jigsaw hallucinates. Similarly to Jill, we are introduced to Hoffman for a few minutes--both becoming pivotal characters for the rest of the series.

In some ways, I do wish that they had ended the series here, but part 4 does complement this entry quite well. This serves as a better conclusion than part 7 managed to display, and the majority of the franchise's plot threads were closed. Likewise, the way in which the story comes full circle is rather poetic. The characters and their individual plights are compelling, and the traps are among the most graphic and memorable in the series (especially the pig grinder and rack). I especially enjoy the gauntlet idea since it represents the progression of intensity between each movie. We get a great insight into Jigsaw's ideas and tactics while exploring his backward and hypocritical morality. Regardless of whether it was the right move or not, the franchise would continue for four more entries despite Jigsaw being dead.

Notable Moment: When the guy is killed on "the rack." This might be the most painful and torturous of all the deaths in the franchise.

Final Rating: 7/10