Saw V Movie Review

Despite all the negative reviews that I have been seeing around, I have to say that this was a great entry in the Saw series. Saw V begins where Saw III/IV left off (those two taking place at the same time and all). Agent Strahm sets out to put an end to the whole Jigsaw mystery. He knows there is something suspicious about Hoffman and that he has some secrets that connect him to Jigsaw, while Hoffman is trying to rid the evidence and people who may spoil his reputation and figure out his involvement. All the while there is a group of five people trapped in a game of their own who must work together and vie to be the last one alive.

Saw V carries out another very intriguing story and it creates constant suspense. Although there are several parts that seem to be predictable, it all isn’t as it seems. The acting in this film was fine; the cast was believable and did exactly what they were supposed to do, entertain and make us fear for them. Having said that the characters in the group trap were not all the most developed characters, but I still felt some empathy for them in some scenes. I think that there should have been more of those characters and their game in the film. The one complaint I had about the characters was not the way they acted, but whom the writers didn’t include. Amanda didn’t have a role in it, and although she wasn’t in the fourth either, I was hoping she would somehow make a return.

The film is full of flashbacks, some about how Hoffman became an apprentice, which is a really absorbing story. The film also once again shows us some of the ways the different traps were set-up, which is always really cool. We also got a more background information on a few characters from the previous films.

When it was all over I walked out very impressed. I was excited to see it and when I saw negative reviews I lost some excitement. Needless to say I was very satisfied with the film. Obviously do not watch the film if you have missed any of the previous instalments, especially III and IV, you will be lost, although this is more straightforward than Saw IV. This is also a better movie than Saw IV in my opinion. It was intriguing, intense, gory enough, had cool flashbacks, neat traps and a good ending, despite the lack of a huge twist. I highly recommend this film to horror fans, and especially Saw fans, it was very well done and the good outweighs the bad most certainly.