I hated this movie when I saw it in theaters. I mean HATED it. I felt like it was a ridiculous cash grab with stupid twists that didn't add much to the whole Saw mythos, the kills didn't send the message the filmmakers thought they did, the ending was insulting, and the over-the-top gore was bullshit because it hid the complete lack of a coherent plot, like the filmmakers thought we viewers were too stupid to notice if the movie didn't have a good plot as long as they threw enough gore at us to keep us entertained. This was the first Saw movie I actually got to watch in a theater, and I was so pissed that it was such a letdown. I haven't watched it since that first viewing, so let's see if I enjoy it better this time around.
In this entry of the series, Jigsaw us dead and his body is undergoing a grisly autopsy when the coroner finds a tape containing the message that Jigsaw's "message" is going to continue even after his death, so his murders will continue. We then cut to another elaborate murder trap, and the story goes on to follow the detective now in charge of the Jigsaw investigation, the only one left alive. The FBI sends agents in, because they aren't impressed with the way the investigation has been handled and the inability of the police to put a stop to the killings. As the story unfolds, we find hiw events from Jigsaw's past influenced his life and his murders. Origin stories for the win!
I really REALLY hated Costas Mandylor, the lead actor who plays detective Mark Hoffman in this movie. He has this smug, detached way of playing the character, which made him stand out like a sore thumb in a cast full of people who looked like they were putting in their best performances. His voice grated on my last nerve when I first saw this movie, but I don't mind it as much now. It's just how he plays the character, and I've seen the actor in other roles now and he seems to be a good actor, so I guess his performance was intentional. I don't know, maybe I've softened over time.
Lyriq Bent, the actor who plays the cop going through Jigsaw's puzzle in this movie, does well with his performance, but the whole setup bothered me because it's almost like he's being punished for being too good at his job, and the only way for him to survive is by being a shitty cop. Not exactly fitting with Jigsaw's supposed message. I guess given the ending reveal I can see why the game is set up this way, but it's still annoying how it deviates so much from what the Jigsaw murders were supposed to be about (teaching people to value their lives, not teaching a guy to half-ass his job or even actively torture and "punish" perpetrators).
We meet a woman in this movie who was once married to Jigsaw, and through her we learn about his backstory and what might have happened in his past to cause him to turn to violent torture and murder as a way of "teaching people to value their lives"). It's all background noise to me, though, because as much as I understand and empathize with the pain he went through, that's no excuse for the horrible crimes he committed, and his whole "I'm not a murderer, it's their choice" spiel is bullshit. Build elaborate traps and force people inside, you're a murderer, and refusing to acknowledge that because you fell for your own line of bullshit and think you're doing some great work is just pathetic.
So I didn't hate this movie as much the second time around. For better or worse, it has to happen somehow to continue the story. The 3rd movie backed them into a corner, and they kinda had no choice but to move the story in this direction, and now that I've made my peace with Costas Mandylor and his performance, I guess I can forgive the movie's faults and enjoy it for what it is. I still think it's a lot of gory style over substance, and I still thing Jigsaw's "messsge" is full of shit, especially how it relates to the cop going through the puzzle in this movie, it's not as bad as I thought it was once upon a time.
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