I saw it yesterday with my friends, and here's what I have to say about it:
SPOILERS ARE INCLUDED
The story may have been a little weak, but it was still interesting none the less. I was wondering when we would see somebody use the message Jigsaw tried to spread as a means of commercial gain, regardless on whether or not the experience was truth or lies. It kind of came off to me that some people were just not scared of Jigsaw if they would fake going through a trap for the purpose of fame and fortune, and while it was sad to see Bobby go through what he did, especially losing his wife, I say he got what was coming to him. John saw that Bobby didn't truly deserve what he had gained, and he put all of that up against him and it came to bite him in the butt in the end.
To be honest, I really don't think they needed another cop. The new guy in this movie was kind of pointless all around. I think the movie would have worked fine on it's own with the Bobby storyline as well as the Jill vs Hoffman plot. I wasn't really phased at all when the cop was killed with the turret gun.
On the topic of Jill versus Hoffman, I am a fan of Jill over Hoffman. It's not that I don't like Costas Mandylor, I actually thought he fit the role very well. I just prefer Jill because I feel she was developed a bit better. I was sure that one of them was going to kill the other, but I did not expect them both to die. I was a little sad to see Jill die, although it was amazing to FINALLY see how the reverse bear trap from Amanda's trap was meant to work. Watching Gordon lock up Hoffman in the bathroom and leaving him to die was an amazing tie back to the first movie, and I especially loved how Gordon got rid of the saw he used to cut his foot off. Hoffman got exactly what he deserved.
Seeing Dr. Gordon back was a treat indeed. The twist ending of having him be involved with Jigsaw the entire time was such a perfect way of ending, yet at the same time this might have hurt the movie's unpredictability factor. It seems that since Saw II, EVERYBODY who has seen all of the movies predicted that Gordon was an accomplice, and while it was nice to see that a lot of people predicted right, this also means that it most likely came as no surprise to a lot of people. I think not having Dr. Gordon appear in the self help group scene would have helped the ending come more as a shock. Nevertheless, it was still an awesome ending.
The traps were crazy this time around. Were they the best? I wouldn't say that. Regardless, they were still awesome. I think we can all agree that the garage trap was the most memorable from that movie, because you knew that Jigsaw wouldn't have gone through the trouble of setting up that entire trap for it to not work, and the pay off was brutal. Again, seeing the reverse bear trap was great, and the sheer look of horror on Jill's face when she realized she was dead was truly terrifying. The public trap at the beginning was also very interesting. It was nice to see a huge number of people exposed to what Jigsaw could do.
In terms of the 3D, I thought it worked very well. When I first heard that Saw was going to be in 3D, my first thought was that every minute body parts would be flying in my face, but to my surprise it was kept under control. In fact, I was actually left wanting more out of the 3D, because what was put in the movie worked surprisingly well. There were definitely some added affects from the trailers/clips we were shown leading up to the release, and they all worked efficiently.
In terms of whether or not this movie leaves the door open for another sequel, my verdict is that it could go really either way, but my gut tells me that this is indeed the final movie. When you think about it, Dr. Gordon was never asked by Jigsaw to carry out his work after he died. His work was meant to end with Hoffman dieing at the hands of Jill. John's final request to Gordon was to look after Jill and to act immediately if anything were to happen to her. He fulfilled this by locking Hoffman up in the bathroom, so he really doesn't have anything more to do for John. His story tied up very nicely with this movie, so I really don't see Gordon becoming more involved.
Overall, I left the movie highly satisfied. Is it the best movie in the franchise? No. It has its flaws here and there. Having said that, it is still a really good movie. I am proud to have stuck with Saw since the beginning and I can safely say that this franchise will go down in the books as one of the best and most influential horror franchises of all time.
Final verdict for Saw 3D: 8.5/10
Final verdict for Saw Franchise as a whole: A+
Ranking of Saw movies from most favorite to least favorite:
Saw II
Saw
Saw III
Saw 3D
Saw VI
Saw V
Saw IV
