Saw V

First off, I'm suffering from the worst sinus infection known to man. It's spread to my left eye, which is now swollen worse than a pugilist's face.

So this review will be short and sweet.

Saw V, where do I begin with you? We have a very strange and torrid love affair. One that transcends the usual boundaries a film fanatic like myself and a movie franchise tends to have. There's been highs. There's been lows. And there's definitely been plenty of 'what the fuck' moments sprinkled within. But I've always been entertained by the films.

The term torture porn comes up a lot when referencing these films. I don't see it like that at all. Of course there's some great gore moments, especially in the new film (one involving a pendulum brought back memories of Corman's Poe films of yesteryear). But instead I see the films and its central 'villain' Jigsaw (even though he's been dead since Saw III) about justice and a play on the morals of mankind. Jigsaw's games are there to give the player the chance to redeem themselves; to get another chance in life and to finally see the wrong they've done in the world. Who is Jigsaw to choose this path for them? That's where it gets a bit tricky to side with him, but sometimes I can't help but see where he's coming from. It all stemmed from his choice shown in Saw IV that after his wife, who was in mid-pregnancy) gets robbed and has the baby killed because of a dope head, he then goes the path of a vengeful god, so to speak.

He's their judge, jury and they are their own executioner. They can choose the path of righteousness and be able to escape, as we've seen in every film so far. People have survived these games, not because they were rigged, but they took their second chance at life anew and ran with it. This is very dodgy material, almost religious in some aspects which I tend to not agree with. But it makes for enjoyable material to see in theaters with a raucous crowd.

What did I like? Without spoiling anything about the film, I loved the traps. Always tend to be original, even though they tend to do the same thing, which is main and rip people apart, both physically and mentally. Tobin Bell was once again great in the role of horror's backseat killer Jigsaw. I also enjoyed the whole backtracking throughout the whole series to tie some things together, some plot holes in some cases, all together to show you how in depth their writers sometimes get to make the world as believable as possible. Returning cast members from all the films was also a great nod to the few fans of the series who pay attention to the story and not just to the gore.

What didn't I like? I didn't like that there was a 6 year old in the theater with his parents watching the film. It's weird, for someone like me who grew up with movies in their lives, I didn't watch a R rated film until I was probably 15 or so. Any type of film I would watch that was R in theaters was trimmed to shit on channels like Channel 9 or 11 here in New York City. I also don't like the new villain, only because my brother and I can't help but comment on his big lips. It's something that annoys the hell out of us. I also still hate all the crazy camera effects and jump cuts that has become commonplace in the Saw films. It just rips my brain and eyes out and pisses on them because I know they don't have to resort to such film school tactics.

So did I like the film? Yeah I did. It was enjoyable. Is it a classic of the genre? Not at all. Not even close. But if you want an hour and a half that's better than some of the other drivel in theaters (Max Payne, Beverly Hills Chihuahua anyone?). I'd definitely check it out again. I did miss about 10 minutes while I was in the bathroom attempting to fix my eye.