Grade:  B

Director:  James Wan		Released:  October 2004
Writer:  James Wan, Leigh Whannell		MPAA Rating:  R
Players:  Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Leigh Whannell		Running time:  100 minutes

Ratings Methodology

I think the filmmakers underestimated the power of their story.  The two guys facing off in the room, along with the backstory of the killer's other murders, was enough to carry the show.  But this movie gets all bogged down in foot chases and pointless "oh-so-close" near misses of catching the killer that were completely unnecessary.  Seemed like a lot of filler to extend the film a little longer.  Still, the setup is great and the story original, I enjoyed most of Saw quite a bit, so I can forgive some of its shortcomings.

This movie should have been like Open Water, which forced the audience to experience the visceral shock of the protagonists situation.  Saw lets us off the hook by muddying up the matter with a robed and masked killer who we never really see, and the aforementioned "missed-him-by-that-much" moments.

As for the two guys trapped in the bathroom, I felt the murderer wasn't fair in setting up their game.  Not that a murderer always need be fair, but a murderer invented for the sake of dramatic action and tension does need to be.  One guy has everything on the line, and the other guy has ... only himself on the line.

I'm noticing more often movies that have really good first halves before fizzling out.  It's a disturbing trend which I hope ends soon.

- crocoPuffs