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Saw VI No Match for Original

Critics agree: Whatever you think of the first film, it was better

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 23, 2009 2:09 PM CDT

(Newser) – Most critics find themselves in the tough spot of praising the original Saw to put down the sixth installment. They don't make 'em like they used to. Some opinions:

"The film goes all trendy in its selection of victims," opting for the likes of insurance adjusters and bypassing the "classicism" of those who squander the gift of life, Mike Hale writes for the New York Times. And "one test involves dodging hot steam. That’s quite a comedown from the good old days of being drowned in liquefied hog carcasses."

Watching the Saw films has just gotten too hard, writes Peter Sobczynksi of eFilmCritic. "Between the relentless flashbacks and cross-cutting, I probably couldn't give you an adequate summary if you demanded one at gunpoint."
Saw VI just doesn't "play fair with the audience," Chris Hewitt writes in the Pioneer Press. What's the point if "even the guy who is definitively dead—Jigsaw himself —spends most of VI blathering ideas that no longer make sense and planting the seeds for his dead-but-still-alive-in-flashbacks appearance in next year's inevitable Saw VII?"

[Videos (1)]

A screenshot from Saw VI. (kkrissu07)

The Saw VI poster. (flickr)

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The Saw VI trailer. (Kovulion19)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 5 comments

EpicFailGuy

Oct 30, 2009 11:21 AM CDT

Totally agreed. I think killing him off so early was retarded, and probably the turning point of the series.

Sayyiduna

Oct 24, 2009 6:32 AM CDT

The greatest "hook" for the Saw series for me was the idea of a deranged rogue engineer designing devastating traps to test people's desire for life and simultaneously make a good movie. In my opinion, they killed Jigsaw off WAY too quickly to try and be edgy only to find that the plot gets dumber from there. It's coming to a point where we have a guy designing intricate, inescapable rooms that has NO knowledge of mechanics, and we're supposed to believe all it takes is a "knowledge of human nature." Give me a break..

Rembrandt_Q_Einstein

Oct 24, 2009 6:13 AM CDT

All the Saw movies are horrible, so how is this one any different?

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entertainment • film • movie review • movies • sequel • horror movies • horror film • Saw VI • Tobin Bell

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Saw VI No Match for Original

Critics agree: Whatever you think of the first film, it was better