Saw 3D
Kevin Greutert, 2010,
Saw 3D begins with a notable first for the series: a scene shot on location (outside Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto) in broad daylight with hundreds of extras, Jigsaw’s first trap in a public place and built for spectators. After countless hours of watching his victims get disassembled in dim, dilapidated industrial environs (I’ve often wondered about the health of Saw City’s commercial real estate market), this scene is literally a breath of fresh air. But anyone hoping to stay in the sun will be disappointed, as we’re soon plunged back into yet another abandoned factory full of pointy whirligigs. Lionsgate exercised some contractual shenanigans to force Kevin Greutert to direct again, and his lack of enthusiasm for the project is clear: This is without a doubt the most rote and lifeless entry in an already mercenary saga. It ostensibly ties up the series’ remaining narrative loose ends, but there’s little satisfaction to be taken in the nonsense of it all. In a franchise built on lazy flashbacks, these are probably the laziest. I have three more Saw movies to sit through, and I really hope none of them manage to find a lower floor than this one.