We Got Movie Sign!
Time for my good, old-fashioned, patented Two-Minute Review (c) of Saw the fuck there's FOUR of these things now?
DISCLAIMER: Do not see Saw IV if you have not seen Saw III, as I have not. While most of the movie was alright, there were particular key moments where I was left going, "What, who is that?" or "Why are they acting like we've seen this before?" Turns out "we" (by "we" I mean not me) had.
Saw IV follows the recent trend in American cinema of the prequel. It also shows that the series cannot live without the Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell) who was killed off in one of the earlier movies. Damned if I can keep track.
The movie opens with Jigsaw's dead body being autopsied, but for a dead man, he gets quite a bit of screen time. Nearly half the movie (much like the recent Halloween remake) is spent giving the back-story of the killer, setting up how he was driven to kill, and presenting us with his first few forays into his special blend of killing.
The rest of the movie follows SWAT leader Riggs as he attempts to save the lives of two fellow officers while all three are caught in one of Jigsaw's (or does he have an apprentice?) "games." Following Riggs a few steps behind are two FBI agents who believe Riggs is Jigsaw's newest helper, and he seems to be leaving a slew of bodies in his wake.
There were a few decent jolts in the movie, but there were also a few where I wasn't sure what (if anything) was jumping out of the shadows at a police officer. Many of the scenes of Jigsaw's "games" are shot in a very jumpy, blurry, motion-y way that makes it impossible to see what is going on clearly. Also many of them are (unintentionally?) comical.
As in earlier Saw movies, the twist ending barely counts as an actual twist, and the entire thing hinges on split-second timing of coincidental events. The three other people who screened this tonight and I got together to try to figure it out, and we still had no idea what was going on. Also (and I doubt I'm giving much away with this, but in case you care **SPOILER**) it seems like they basically just ripped the plot straight from the second movie. (**END OF SPOILER**)
So honestly, just about par for a Saw movie.
Final grade: C+
DISCLAIMER: Do not see Saw IV if you have not seen Saw III, as I have not. While most of the movie was alright, there were particular key moments where I was left going, "What, who is that?" or "Why are they acting like we've seen this before?" Turns out "we" (by "we" I mean not me) had.
Saw IV follows the recent trend in American cinema of the prequel. It also shows that the series cannot live without the Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell) who was killed off in one of the earlier movies. Damned if I can keep track.
The movie opens with Jigsaw's dead body being autopsied, but for a dead man, he gets quite a bit of screen time. Nearly half the movie (much like the recent Halloween remake) is spent giving the back-story of the killer, setting up how he was driven to kill, and presenting us with his first few forays into his special blend of killing.
The rest of the movie follows SWAT leader Riggs as he attempts to save the lives of two fellow officers while all three are caught in one of Jigsaw's (or does he have an apprentice?) "games." Following Riggs a few steps behind are two FBI agents who believe Riggs is Jigsaw's newest helper, and he seems to be leaving a slew of bodies in his wake.
There were a few decent jolts in the movie, but there were also a few where I wasn't sure what (if anything) was jumping out of the shadows at a police officer. Many of the scenes of Jigsaw's "games" are shot in a very jumpy, blurry, motion-y way that makes it impossible to see what is going on clearly. Also many of them are (unintentionally?) comical.
As in earlier Saw movies, the twist ending barely counts as an actual twist, and the entire thing hinges on split-second timing of coincidental events. The three other people who screened this tonight and I got together to try to figure it out, and we still had no idea what was going on. Also (and I doubt I'm giving much away with this, but in case you care **SPOILER**) it seems like they basically just ripped the plot straight from the second movie. (**END OF SPOILER**)
So honestly, just about par for a Saw movie.
Final grade: C+