Saw VI: Movie Review (2009)

By our guest blogger, Gavin Stone.

Movie Review
"Saw VI"

Directed by Kevin Greutert, written by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, rated R.

When it comes to the Saw franchise, you are on one of two ends – Love it or Hate it. I do not think there is any other movie series out there that gets as much flack as the Saw movies. I mean, it’s already up to 6 and there is no end in sight with the lofty original goal of 10 movies. The problem is that all people really see is the same set up every movie – bad people in life-or-death over-the-top traps that are designed to bring them redemption from their not so good life habits. If that is all you see, then of course you would tire of it after number 2. However, there is far more to this series than traps. It is a story of one man’s quest to bring true life changing justice to the masses and his philosophy is catching on. It is a good story with a massive amount of twists and turns that drive the story deeper.

What we know so far, in case you missed it--Jigsaw is a man who had bad things happen to him in life and has used his genius to design ‘traps’ for bad people to show them that they are wasting their lives. Some that escape join him on his quest, the cops are always outsmarted, and they finally catch Jigsaw after he is dead, but the apprentices live on to carry out the work. In a nutshell, that's about it.

But why keep it going when Jigsaw died in part 3? Even I had my doubts going into 4 and 5, but I have never been let down. So I go into 6 with high hopes of good answers to the question of why we should care about these movies anymore.

Each movie has progressed the story of Jigsaw more and more, and you realize just how deep the rabbit hole goes. We have gone into why he did what he did and why those that follow him either take up the mantle or fail due to their own inability to believe in redemption. On one side you get the panicked ‘victims’ that cannot stop and think, on the other side you have the cops who are trying to stop something they do not understand, and in the middle are the Jigsaws. It is a high stakes game of cat and mouse.

"Saw VI" is definitely a Saw movie, though it did seem to drag on a little longer than it really needed to. Unlike the previous five movies, "Saw VI" seemed to start focusing more on the other side of the traps and the law enforcement investigations. The game was almost a side thought here. The movie goes back and shows us more of the ‘family’ dynamics between Jigsaw and his protégés and his family life. The game itself was a little less gory than the predecessors as well. In true Saw fashion, the ending is full of twists and the entire movie leads up to the big payout that already is geared for the seventh film. But now, instead of the hope we had of redemption that seemed to be Jigsaw’s motive, we are left with an interesting choice--Fury or Redemption?

That is one thing that "Saw VI" did well. It took the entire game system and Jigsaw’s motives, and made them seem like perhaps they were not as ‘innocent’ as we were expecting. It seems the protégés are not holding up quite well, as evident with Amanda in 3. But even now her motives come to light here in the sixth film. All six of these movies do an excellent job of making you think one thing but later showing you how wrong you were. The story is intricate and overlaps in each movie, thus revealing the much bigger picture.

The taglines for this movie were way off though. Do not go into it expecting ‘the disease to be spreading’ or for his plan to come ‘full circle.’ There is no evidence of this in the entire movie. which makes me wonder why they claim such things if they cannot come through on it. However, if you are like me and really enjoy the Saw franchise, you will really dig this movie. It ends with a bunch of open ended activities, like the sister in a cage and of course the beginning of a whole new game that just might not be what we think it is. I think the transition to more of the behind-the-scenes activities is a good direction to bring those who have grown stale on the series and breathe some new life into it before it finishes. But is it too little too late? We shall see.

Hopefully next Halloween, I will see you at Saw 7.

View the trailer for "Saw VI" here: