Jigsaw
Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig, 2017,
In the beginning of Saw V, it’s established that Jigsaw is 52 years old, and maybe the fact that he looks considerably older can be chalked up to his chemotherapy and years of disemboweling people. But at a certain point in Jigsaw, the eighth film in the franchise, we see the character a few years before that, presumably when he was in his late 40s, with no attempt made to disguise the fact that the actor who portrays him, Tobin Bell, is now 75. I know verisimilitude has never been a priority for these movies, but speaking as someone in his late 40s who still gets carded sometimes, it’s hard to get past, especially in light of the misdirection at the heart of this movie’s inevitable twist. Jigsaw is the first Saw whodunit, which might have been a fun way to breathe new life into the series, but it just can’t help being back on its bullshit, and the mystery is as preposterous as can be expected.