Saw (2004) Rated: R for strong grisly violence and language. (edited for re-rating; originally NC-17) Runtime: 100 mins. Director: James Wan Writer: James Wan (story); Leigh Whannell (screenplay) Cast: Leigh Whannell; Cary Elwes; Danny Glover....complete cast Genre: Horror/Crime
Tagline: Every Piece Has a Puzzle. Memorable Quote: ": He doesn't want us to saw through our chains! He wants us to saw through our feet!"
Reel rating:
2/5
Reel commentary: ...is without a doubt one of the most out of control awful films to come down the pike in quite some time.....full review
SAW is without a doubt the most audacious, gutwrenching, gory...badly-acted, most-ludicrous film I've seen in years.
Thought I was going somewhere good with this one didn't you?
Forget what your friends tell you. Ignore the (halfway) positive reviews and comparisons to SE7EN that this film is getting. It is without a doubt one of the most out of control awful films to come down the pike in quite some time.
Yes, it has a fantastic premise (two guys wake up in a bathroom chained to opposite sides, yadda, yadda, yadda...) Yes, it has a twist you most likely won’t see coming.
The first half, in which our two protagonists find themselves in their aforementioned predicaments, is admittedly not too shabby. The two men are not what they seem. One of them has to kill the other within 8 hours in order to save his wife and child, etc.
But all of that is just the icing on top of a very poorly constructed piece of cake. That it is so unsuccessful is unfortunate, because SAW really had the chance to be something great.
You might be tempted to give director James Wan and co-screenwriter Leigh Wannell (who also stars in the film as Adam) some credit, since this is a first timer for both of them, but that would only be if you chose to ignore aspects of filmmaking such as a solid screenplay, good acting, pacing...you know “trifles” like that.
All of this is not to say that SAW doesn’t have a few scares and some morbid fun hidden within its running time. Even that cake I mentioned has the icing to help it go down. But it’s simply not enough to justify sitting through this mess.
When the end comes (and believe me it isn’t soon enough) you’ll feel, not only let down by a wonderful premise, but angry that you stayed through a movie that just got so...well, silly at the end.
If you must, see SAW. But don’t say you weren’t warned.
