By the title, I mean beats it at being total crap, which is some feat. Saw IV is one of the worst films I have ever seen, and I can't believe James Wan doesn't protest at the fact that the latest 2 sequels actually title themselves "Saw". They have absolutely nothing in common with Wan's excellent original. No. 2 also had little in common, but at least it was just about decent. Now all logic has been swept aside, the story is terrible and the traps are poorly designed. The director hired to take Wan's mantle, Darren Lynn Bousman, has once again proved he has no talent for the horror genre. Saw 2, 3 and 4 aren't scary in the slightest, and he can't even generate decent suspense, due to the fact he can't think of anything new to replace people jumping out of the dark.
Once again, Jigsaw's past has formed part of the storyline, presumably to try and show us why he does what he does. But why would we care? The first film tells us his basic premise - he wants people that he feels do not appreciate their existence to show him that they do. We also found out later that he himself has contracted cancer, which started off his motive. That's enough surely, why does 3 and 4 try to make us sympathise with Jigsaw by trying to show him as a normal person? Tobin Bell is also a really poor actor, and displays the same emotion during every scene, whether he is killing, or in an 'emotional' scene with his girlfriend.
Also, the story has again been neglected for horrific torture scenes. Although the first installment was marketed as being violent, it actually contains minimal violent scenes, and had a genuinely interesting idea. Saw 4 contains many traps, but at no point did I care about any of the characters - I didn't know anything about them, as no time was spent on developing them. The storyline is basically identical to that of Saw 3, and it really is a boring film - any supposedly scary moments are predictable. Another thing, why are some of these people even being put in these stupid games. The main character's reason for being there is 'he wants to save everyone'. What? Is that a crime? Surely thats a good thing. Why does Jigsaw claim he is doing the right thing and then torture a person who is 1) doing a respectful job and 2) arresting the very people he originally tortured because he thought they were bad?
*SPOILER*
The story also makes little sense. If the new 'apprentice' guy knows Jigsaw is dead, why doesn't he just shout to our "hero" Rigg and tell him not to walk into the room before 90 minutes, so they can survive, instead of relying on him not doing the thing that he has been specifically told to do.
*SPOILER OVER*
Also, what is with the lighting? Why do characters walk around their houses at night without switching lights on? Yes, darkness can be scary, but when characters are having regular conversations there's no need to build suspense, and we would like to actually see what is going on when we go to view a movie! All in all, this is one of the worst I've ever seen. Not only does it rely on gratuitous and disgusting violence as a sole reason for entertainment, the story is absolutely awful, and the 'twist' makes no real sense and is completely stupid. Hopefully people have realised this increasingly abysmal franchise has nothing to offer, and its days of making a nice profit at the box office are over.
Once again, Jigsaw's past has formed part of the storyline, presumably to try and show us why he does what he does. But why would we care? The first film tells us his basic premise - he wants people that he feels do not appreciate their existence to show him that they do. We also found out later that he himself has contracted cancer, which started off his motive. That's enough surely, why does 3 and 4 try to make us sympathise with Jigsaw by trying to show him as a normal person? Tobin Bell is also a really poor actor, and displays the same emotion during every scene, whether he is killing, or in an 'emotional' scene with his girlfriend.
Also, the story has again been neglected for horrific torture scenes. Although the first installment was marketed as being violent, it actually contains minimal violent scenes, and had a genuinely interesting idea. Saw 4 contains many traps, but at no point did I care about any of the characters - I didn't know anything about them, as no time was spent on developing them. The storyline is basically identical to that of Saw 3, and it really is a boring film - any supposedly scary moments are predictable. Another thing, why are some of these people even being put in these stupid games. The main character's reason for being there is 'he wants to save everyone'. What? Is that a crime? Surely thats a good thing. Why does Jigsaw claim he is doing the right thing and then torture a person who is 1) doing a respectful job and 2) arresting the very people he originally tortured because he thought they were bad?
*SPOILER*
The story also makes little sense. If the new 'apprentice' guy knows Jigsaw is dead, why doesn't he just shout to our "hero" Rigg and tell him not to walk into the room before 90 minutes, so they can survive, instead of relying on him not doing the thing that he has been specifically told to do.
*SPOILER OVER*
Also, what is with the lighting? Why do characters walk around their houses at night without switching lights on? Yes, darkness can be scary, but when characters are having regular conversations there's no need to build suspense, and we would like to actually see what is going on when we go to view a movie! All in all, this is one of the worst I've ever seen. Not only does it rely on gratuitous and disgusting violence as a sole reason for entertainment, the story is absolutely awful, and the 'twist' makes no real sense and is completely stupid. Hopefully people have realised this increasingly abysmal franchise has nothing to offer, and its days of making a nice profit at the box office are over.
Tell Your Friends