Wanna play a game? Again? "Saw" is back on the big screen and of course, it is more gruesome than ever. The "Saw" saga has moved into its sixth installment this Halloween season and it has finally (we hope) tied up the seemingly endless storyline.
The movie starts off with a highly gruesome scene, similar to the five previous films. Viewers witness a lone officer, Simone, and her assistant, Eddie, competing to chop off the most flesh in order to save one of their lives. Just like in previous films, there are many flashbacks to help viewers understand the thick plotline and keep every event in sequence. Even though the main mastermind, Jigsaw, has died, his work was not completed and left numerous questions unanswered.
A whole cast of new characters is introduced, while tying up these loose ends and with new characters comes new traps. These characters weren’t portrayed to their greatest ability because of poor performances by unknown actors. However, the unifying theme among them was, once again, that they were all people who did not value their lives and needed to be taught an important lesson.
More time is spent on developing the character of the main victim, William Easton (Peter Outerbridge, "Mission to Mars"), in this film in comparison to the others. This allows the audience to better understand why Jigsaw may have had it out for him, which could turn dedicated viewers away because it allows revenge to seep through; an uncommon characteristic for Jigsaw.
The political undertones in the movie really stand out as Easton makes his way through Jigsaw’s fun house and is forced to decide the fate of other innocent victims, much like our health care system. This did not stay true to the themes of previous "Saw" films, with innocent people’s lives ending; another characteristic that is uncommon for Jigsaw.
Overall, the movie does a decent job of making you scream and Director Kevin Greutert does a fine job of wrapping up the loose storylines. The series may be finished but no one can really say if it is truly over yet.
