Saw III Review

So yeah this is a weird first movie to post about... But i just watched Saw III.
For the longest time i dismissed the Saw films as "Torture Porn", with nothing of substance and pointlessly gratuitous deaths and gore, and i am for the most part right.

The Saw Films are known for their Creative (and Gruesome) Deaths and Traps

Having watched the first two fairly recently, i went into Saw III expecting it to be like Saw II, and i was thankfully (Mostly) wrong.
Saw III Is much more character focused than Saw II (Which had a collection of forgettable characters trapped in a rigged up house and the cops watching helplessly) as it focuses on one man as he goes through a series of trials set up for him, and the relationship between the dying Jigsaw and his (even crazier) apprentice.
What makes said Trials so intriguing is that Jeff (our loose protagonist) is never put in immediate danger, but he has the choice to Save people, or let them die. What makes them even more interesting is that all of these people are responsible (both directly and indirectly) for the Death of Jeff's son.

Jeff is played well by an unknown Angus Macfayden

The Strongest actor in the film is actually (though that's not much of an achievement) Shawnee Smith who plays Jigsaw's Psychotic apprentice, Amanda, who's traps are actually much more Deadly than his.  Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) has little else to do but lay on a bed and be sick, and every other Actor/Character is mostly forgettable if they aren't killed off.  What i really like is how the relationship between Amanda and Jigsaw is explored and explained, Amanda sees Jigsaw as a father figure who saved her life, and when a reluctant Nurse begins to get more attention than her, she begins to snap even more.

But no actor, no matter how Bat-Shit insane they are could ever steal the Spotlight from the Traps, and this Instalment has the most (of the three i've seen). Without Giving them away, Most of them are cringe inducing or nauseating at least, it's very obvious to see why these are the trademark of the franchise. They are (mostly) all clever and feature the Trademark, Lose an Arm/Leg or lose your life kind of Scenarios.  But what makes this Instalment shine (for me at least) is the people in Said Traps have no control, their lives are in the hands of Jeff, who is not the Biggest fan of them to say the least.  This creates a lot more Morality than the previous two ever had, Most of them where: "Oh you're a Junkie, now you have to dig through a pit of Needles.  The thought of someone having to decide if he wants to save the man who killed his child, or watch them die in front of him, is a concept few movies have explored this Bluntly.

The Traps are the True standout of the film

But does all of this make Saw III a good movie? eh... Kinda...

The actors are mostly ok at best, though to be fair they aren't given much to work with as the script thinks it's smarter than it really is, and the camera's tendency to not focus on one thing for more than five seconds can be annoying.  But the creative traps, PHENOMENAL gore effects (It's almost all makeup, no CGI here), a more character focused story, and some real tough morality questions make it my personal favorite of the franchise so far, but again, that's not saying a lot.