I originally saw Saw VI in theaters and again just a few nights ago on DVD. I forgot to write a review when I saw it in theaters, so let me fix that now..
As far as the Saw movies go, 6 is a great addition to the series and a much-needed face lift after the last one. This movie had a lot of decent twists, tries to wrap the series up (though it does leave a few plot threads open, since they are working on a 7th), and of course has quite a bit of gore with the traps.
Plot
This movie picks up almost exactly where Saw V ends. So if you haven’t seen the 5th movie, don’t bother watching the 6th one just yet. If you saw the 5th movie then you know Hoffman is the sole survivor and is untested by Jigsaw. In this movie he’s forced to put into play one final game while the FBI tries to track down the apprentice of Jigsaw.
The overall plot involves health insurance. I really can’t say much more without spoiling things too much, so I’ll just leave it there. I find it interesting that the plot is also relevant, somewhat, to current events. I have to wonder if the writers did that on purpose or if the whole health-care debate came along at the right time to make this movie topical.
The Good
As I mentioned at the beginning, this movie has a lot of twists. This is great. The twist in five was really weak–though you learn more about why the game in five was played in six, if you pay attention to both movies. Saw movies are renown for having really neat twists that you don’t see coming and this movie doesn’t disappoint. There’s one twist that you’ll see coming from a mile away (and if you don’t there’s no hope for you) yet at least two others that you WON’T see coming and that keeps it interesting. Plus the ending is awesome.
Tobin Bell is still awesome as Jigsaw, even though he has only a limited part via flashbacks yet again. I have to wonder if the writers are wishing they hadn’t killed Jigsaw off so early in the movie series.
Of course most of the traps are pretty gory. The last sequence is pretty violent and makes you feel sorry for the victim.
The Bad
If you haven’t seen the first five Saw movies you are going to be lost. Heck, even if you saw the first four chances are you would be lost. As I said, this movie picks up almost exactly where 5 left off. The others could probably stand alone but worked better as a series; this one does not.
If you’re into gore, this one just isn’t quite as gory as the others. Honestly that isn’t a bad thing for me, but for some people it might be.
What The?
Every tagline claims that this movie comes full circle with the first one and Jigsaw’s grand scheme would finally be understood. I don’t know if I’m just not getting it, but it doesn’t seem that way to me. There’s at least two plotlines left hanging that will probably be resolved in the next one.
Overall, as far as Saw movies go, I’ll give it an 4 out of 5. For a generic horror movie, though, it’d probably be closer to 2, if not less. It’s more plot heavy and less “scary.” But that’s why I love the Saw films to begin with; they have an ongoing plot with backstory and Jigsaw is a person rather than some insane evil monster that comes back time and again.
If you like Saw and have seen the other five, check this one out. You’ll probably like it.
