Overwiew :Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged, sadistic serial killer is abducting morally wayward people and forcing them to play horrific games for their own survival. When Adam (Leigh Whannell) is jolted back to consciousness after nearly drowning at the bottom of a decrepit bathtub, he awakes to find himself chained to a rusty pipe inside a dark torture chamber. There is someone else in the room. Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) has also just regained consciousness and is chained to the opposite side of the space. Between them a man is lying in a pool of blood after apparently shooting himself in the head with the pistol in his hand. Adam and Dr. Gordon piece together the clues left behind by the deranged criminal mind that has brought them together and finally realize that they, too, must make a seemingly impossible set of choices for their lives.
movies2.nytimes.com - : New York Times - The prisoners have access to handsaws that lack the force to cut through iron but are sharp enough to sever human limbs. Gore-o-philes can rest assured that before the end of the movie, one or the other will be forced to apply his saw to his own leg and that when the moment of self-amputation comes, the camera won't turn away. more...
C+
www.nypost.com - : New York Post - But Whannell and director James Wan weigh things down with flashbacks and flashbacks within flashbacks, not to mention superfluous subplots. One involves two of the world's dumbest cops (Danny Glover and Ken Leung), who track the madman, dubbed ''the Jigsaw Killer,'' to a deserted building, but go in after him without calling for backup. One cop ends up with a slashed throat — but even then his partner doesn't radio for more police, or even an ambulance. more...
C-
rogerebert.suntimes.com - : Chicago Sun-Times - ''Saw'' by contrast depends on an improbably devious and ingenious villain who creates complications for the convenience of the screenplay. Named ''The Jigsaw Killer,'' he joins that sturdy band of movie serial killers with time on their hands to devise elegant puzzles for their victims and the police. Sometimes that works, as in ''The Silence of the Lambs,'' and sometimes we simply feel toyed with. more...
C+
metromix.chicagotribune.com - : Chicago Tribune - The title isn't only a literal reference, but a provocation to audiences to challenge what they see, or at the very least, to pay closer attention. That said, not all of ''Saw'' makes sense once you step out into the lobby, but the film will undoubtedly get repeat business for those looking to unravel it more fully. more...
Critic Reviews
