Ok, I did my civic duty with Saw 3 and warned everyone to stop there. Yes, I know there are loose ends and questions still remaining but walk away. I’m not going to hate on Saw 4 because I do like it but the ending destroys the series for me. There will be spoilers if you haven’t seen it.
The movie begins with a cheap gross out moment where we see Jigsaw get autopsied on and a cassette tape is found in his stomach, perfectly preserved. So the police have been whittled down to near extinction, leaving Rig, a SWAT commander alone after his close friends Matthews and Kerry have been taken out by Jigsaw, along with Detective Hoffman. Together they are the last ones standing. Rig is haunted by the sick shit he sees everyday, and desperately runs into danger trying to help. Alone after his wife and kid go away, Rig is taken by Jigsaw and put through a macabre gauntlet to teach him to control his sympathy and see the world how Jigsaw sees it. As this goes on, Jill Tuck, John Kramer’s estranged ex wife is interrogated by the feds and through flashbacks we’re able to see the events that led to John losing it and becoming Jigsaw. The story is fine, the traps are still cool, and out of all the main Saw heroes, Rig by far is my favorite. I can relate to him, a good man who who wants to do good and save innocent people, but wrecks himself to do it. The problem comes at the end when we find out Jigsaw had yet another apprentice, Hoffman. At first I liked the ending but watching it older, I figured out this twist was there to keep the story pumping on, life support for a few more sequels. After the crap stake that was Saw 5 (which I already reviewed months ago), the series died for me. Overall, 4 isn’t bad or great but worth watching if you came this far. May the gaming gods bring you glory and I’ll see you for Saw 6.
