If you remember where Saw II left off (and you should, because it was made only a year before Saw III) you are ready for the horrors that await you. Unfortunately, this third entry cuts the legs out from under the earlier films in the series, leaving the audience confused and disappointed.
There was hope at the beginning of the film, since the director attempted to keep with the continuity of the last film by bringing back the protagonists of number two, Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and Kerry (Dina Meyer). We quickly move past them, and into the new story, which centers almost exclusively on Jigsaw and his protégé. You would think this would be an interesting character study, like with Hannibal Lecter, but the movie wastes too much time on Jigsaw’s less interesting protégé, Amanda (Shawnee Smith, “Saw II”) than on the master himself. Shawnee Smith’s portrayal of Amanda was appropriate in the first two films, first as a victim, then as an unsuspected accomplice. In the third film, she can’t decide whether to play the character as emotionless or overemotional, which gives her performance a hollow feeling which disrupts the flow of the rest of the movie.
Amanda is supposedly worse than Jigsaw, because she doesn’t give her victims a chance of escape, thereby betraying Jigsaw’s and the movies core rules. The audience thereby doesn’t feel the threat of the life or death challenges because there is really no possibility of escape for the victims. The basic theme of the Saw series is that Jigsaw believes he is testing bad people, to find their glimmer of humanity and so he gives them a chance to overcome his traps. Without the prospect of overcoming the danger, Saw III is no better than an unnecessary bloodbath. Speaking of the gore, even that seems toned down and uninspired in this sad sequel. The one saving grace is Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, who is by far the most interesting character in the series, and one that is still mostly unexplored.
Only diehard fans of the Saw series will find Saw III to be a worthy successor to the earlier films. More likely, you will feel the third film over explains what occurred in the prior movies, destroying their mystique. My best advice is to skip Saw III and wait for the eventual prequel.
2 out of 5