Making a sequel to Saw III was a tall order. After all, John Kramer/Puzzle and his sidekick Amanda Young died at the end of the last movie saw iv review. But put yourself in the shoes of Lionsgate. Saw III grossed about $160 million at the box office with a budget of $10 million. You have to continue the story at that time. Saw IV chose to pass the narrative torch, resulting in the series' most inconsistent entry to date.
More than ever, Saw IV relies on a turning point. Credit where credit is due, the spin itself is dynamite. You see, the movie starts right after Saw III. As Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) sees it, we see the autopsy of John Kramer (Tobin Bell). During the autopsy, they found a piece of tape on his stomach. After playing the tape, it became apparent that a new game was being played from beyond the grave. The rest of the movie follows that game, until the end reveals (gasp) what happened after the autopsy coincides with Saw III and Mark Hoffman being Jigsaw's second apprentice, which makes the beginning of the movie end secretly movie of. It's the kind of exciting knockout game you'd expect right now. However, the movies surrounding it are less powerful.
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Director Darren Lynn Bussman returns for the last time (until Spiral: From Saw Books). At this point, he's distilling his style into a science, making the dark, twisted voice he brings to the team a bit like a terrifying comforter. So it's a shame he doesn't have writers like Leigh Whannell to back him up. Saw IV goes from strong to weak at breakneck speed, so it's best to discuss the movie in different parts.
I'm really surprised that Saw IV isn't trying to revive John Kramer in some ridiculously silly way just to please die-hard fans. We actually get to see his autopsy in the opening scene of the movie, so his resurrection later in the movie would result in a huge slap in the face. While later films sadly canceled this and brought it back (in the case of Jigsaw), screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan created a full-length Saw film in which the infamous Jigsaw Killer was dead all the time. Instead, others are setting traps to teach people the value of life and the lives of others.
But just because John is dead doesn't mean he doesn't have any last-ditch tricks before he dies. In Saw IV, we can see some awesome stuff he's shown recently, and he's actually pretty smart. They managed to have a brand new entry in the series that still has the gory and sickening traps fans of the series love, even if it means they're not controlled by Kramer.
The SAW series is unique in that it develops sequels by looking backwards, introducing new characters retrospectively through flashbacks, filling in old plot holes with new twists and revelations, and more and more backstory. This time, we learn about John Kramer's relationship with Dr. Jill Tucker (Betsy Russell) and the tragedy that led him to begin his mission to help people help themselves by torturing to death. The problem is that if you don't see the other entries in the loop, or don't remember all the characters, you'll have a hard time determining who someone is, or ultimately who they are. should mean this.
