Saw V

This installment of the "Saw" franchise was a bit of a let-down for me, especially after the rather exceptional fourth film. This film was neither directed by Bousman nor written by Whannell and I felt the lack of their input. The plot of this was limited in scope and tenuous at best. It relied very heavily on flashbacks that reinterpreted past films instead of filling in the questions left behind as every previous "Saw" film has done. There are still two elements - a small question from the second film and a huge one from the third - that I hope get answered, but I'm now a bit worried this team is moving too far away from the original vision of the films. It was even in the little details that should have been simple to get right. For example, Jigsaw always ends his tapes with "Live or die. Make your choice" - but in this film he altered those crucial few words for no apparent reason. I do love how Tobin Bell's character died in the third film but the team always finds ways to bring him back like an omnipresent ghost. This is the weakest "Saw" film so far, and I really hope they can pull it together for "Saw VI". 3/5


Saw V on Netflix