So...Its taken 10 of these, but I think i've finally cracked what I like, and dont like, about the 'Saw' franchise. I like relatively self contained stories that dont end up bleeding heavily into 3 or 4 other films in such a way that you get an incomplete experience if you dont watch the lot. I like there to be a level of complexity with the characters, I like it when the victims/contestants of Johns traps manage to survive (even if its only for another round or two) and I like it when the actions of Jigsaw and his associates enter a kind of morally grey area where you DO start to wonder if what he's doing may actually have some kind of ethical net positive.
'Saw X' is very much "my kind of "Saw" film". Set in between the events of Saw 1 and 2 (and largely disregarding most of the stuff that happens from Saw 3 onwards) It follows Johns last roll of the dice, as he heads to mexico after hearing from a member of his cancer support group of an experimental therapy that supposedly has a 90% success rate, he arrives, pays a large sum of money for the treatment, but after the therapy he realises they havent done anything. he's been swindled. Aaaand as you can probably guess, you dont wrong John Kramer without finding yourself strapped down and given the choice of losing one of your body parts, or losing your life.
I suppose what I like the most about 'Saw X' isnt what it does do, but rather what it omits. My biggest issue with most of the 'Saw' films past part 2 is they become SO bogged down in trying to retroactively backfill 'Lore' into the franchise that by the end of part 7, it began to feel like the world fell into 2 camps; those who worked for John Kramer, and those who fall victim to John Kramer.
This film bins off almost everything, its a 'one off' story that manages to feel seamlessly part of the 'Saw' universe, without being bogged down by it. Its here to just tell an interesting story (because we ALL know how this things going to end) and so the emphisis moves away from 'What big reveal are we going to have in this one?' and instead becomes 'How good is this journey going to be and will I feel satisfied by the resolution?
Well; the script is 2 hours, but it REALLY doesnt feel it, When I can confidently say that 'Spiral' felt significantly longer than this Im really not exaggerating. This is a breezy 2 hours that starts off a little on the slow side, but just gets quicker and quicker in pacing as things develop until, by the end of the 3rd act we're positively at fever pitch.
Probably the thing I enjoyed the most about this script is that, for the first time in about 7 movies, John Kramer ACTUALLY has solid motivation against the people who have wronged him. In a series thats seen people get their skin ripped off for being a bit racist, someone risk being hung by barbed wire because she works for a crappy insurance salesman, or having your mouth sown shut and risked being fed into a set of steel blades (while having to fight of a huge blinded guy with a shovel) because you happened to be a slightly skeezy lawyer...This feels like ACTUAL cause to have a movie, ACTUAL drive to make the audience care about the vengence...
Theres plenty of twists and turns that, while not entirely unexpected, did surprise in places. The tone is pretty solid and I actually really enjoyed that this entry really moved away from just being about the victims. here theres a lot more emotional complexity on display (especially in the back end of the film) As we really get to dig deep into John and Amandas relationship, Johns thought processes around why he does what he does, and I found his interactions with his victims to be really quite refreshing after 6 or so films where he's largely in a pre-recorded format (if he's there at all)
I thought the characters all had a bit of a deeper range to work with than the last few films, and I liked how the state of play worked out across the runtime. Not to mention the fact that this is a pretty closed circuit movie, you could realistically watch it on its own merits. you dont *necessarily* need to have seen any of the other 'Saw' films. As the script here borrows more heavily from the 'Exploitation', 'extremist' and 'revenge' subgenres than the other entries. This could easily be viewed on its own as a pretty solid 'guy gets vengence on those that wronged him' flick. Its a neat, slight pivot on the franchise which I really quite appreciated.
In fact, the only niggle I really had was the very VERY end of this thing. it kind of just stops with a couple of loose threads still to go, and while im fine with them leaving some loose strands here and there, it did somewhat dampen things when certain plot threads that were VERY important to the story were quite literally just abandoned...unlikely to ever really get resolution.
The direction here is superb, it feels fresh, it looks fresh, but theres still the telltale stylistic choices that help really keep this thing in line with the rest of the franchise to date. I feel like they really managed to get the best out of the cast and crew and this is probably my favourite looking film of the franchise.
Same goes for the cine, there some subtle grading nods to the original films, which is a nice way to help keep things tied together, but otherwise this really looks nice, it's grimey grotty and wincingly realistic in places, the traps are interesting and really well captured, the editing is tight (even for 2 hours) keeps a slow build but solid rhythm theres plenty of experimentation and B-roll to hand to help keep this looking nice, the composition is equally fresh and really feels like a series thats matured and grown over it's days of just slowly hacking down 10 people with no rhyme or reason.
The performances here are superb! easily some of the best of the franchise and easily some of the most rewarding. This is a huge character piece for Tobin Bell, who's forever been rustling around in the background of these films or only seen in flashback. Here? he's front and center for the whole production and he's FABULOUS. giving a solidly ranged performance while carrying that pain of a terminal illness with total believability. His words feel solid, his movements perfect for this kind of role, I think it's probably the performance of his career quite honestly.
Not to be outshone however, Shawnee Smith is superb here as Amanda, getting the range she really deserved but was denied across the first 3 'Saw' films, we get to see a deeper range and subtlety with her character that I feel really helps round her out nicely, its just a shame she's stuck with arguably the WORST haircut ever put to film due to this taking place between 'Saw 1 and 2' Synnøve Macody Lund as Cecelia Pederson is one of my favourite antagonists for this franchise, a truely malicious performance thats maybe a tad stereotypical. But ultimately such a delight to sit through.
In fact, I dont really think theres a bad performance here at all, theres maybe a couple that stray a *little* far into hammy terratory...but hey, Im all for a bit of ham here and there.
All in all? barring VERY minor flaws here and there, I think 'Saw X' is probably the strongest entry in the series, it'd certainly be the film I show people if they were curious about the franchise and wanted to go a bit deeper than the first couple.
I usually consider a film a success if I could see myself watching it again, I absolutely could see myself watching this again. If you felt the 'Saw' series got a bit repetative after part 2, skip to this and I dont think you'll have many problems.
source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/saw-x/
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