Saw

Saw (Director: James Wan)

This is writer/director James Wan's film debut.

Many critics have pointed to this film as a knockoff of Seven in that it has a sort of righteous killer who has a grand plan in mind for his victims. I think it's kind of a lazy comparison, because the technique is a sort of game the killer plays in having his victims solve a difficult puzzle in order to live, rather than focusing on deadly sins and punishing them for it (there was only one victim in Seven who could have saved herself). I must say, the setup is ingenious, but loses some points for not allowing the audience a real active part in solving the puzzle themselves.

The latest puzzle in the killer's oeuvre involves Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam (co-writer Leigh Whannell, who played Axel in The Matrix Reloaded), awakened to find themselves chained to pipes on opposite sides of a decrepit bathroom. In the middle of the room, a dead man holds a tape recorder in his right hand (closest to Adam) and a gun in his left (closest to Lawrence). Along the way, the two find items that they hope will get them the hell out of there, including, as mentioned in the previews, saws that are meant for their feet and not the chains. Of course, in the meantime, they'd like to keep their feet and they try to figure out what the hell is going on.

Several flashbacks occur, and Dr. Gordon fleshes out secrets and introduces Detective David Tapp (Danny Glover) and Detective Steven Sing (Ken Leung). At one point in the past, this mystery killer had been offing other people in sick, twisted ways, and Gordon became a suspect. The story of Adam comes later, and then several twists occur.

The movie completely gets away from this puzzle at one point, and it definitely loses steam as it focuses on the investigation by Tapp and Sing, leading to a mini-climax. It is the movie's deterrence from the creepy game plot that ends up burying the film, ultimately. I realize the filmmakers have a grand story to tell, and there's a lot of ground to cover, but the film would have just been better had they just stuck with the basics. I think I would have had more enjoyment if the game was more intricate and the discovery of clues and the solving of riddles were more important. Saying much more might ruin some enjoyment if you wanted to watch this, and at the very most it's worth watching.