"The Final Chapter"? Yeah, Right.

Not long after my previous post, I headed out to see Saw 3D. Why they couldn't just call it Saw VII, I have no idea. Just because it's 3D doesn't mean it has to be part of the title. If you're gonna introduce "3D" into the title of a movie franchise, wouldn't be easier to do so in the third one? I could spend all day arguing about the intricacies of movie titles with "3D" as part of them, but then I'd never get to talking about the actual movie.

So yeah, Saw 3D. I'd been hearing from even the most dedicated of Saw fans that it was pretty bad, so I went in expecting the worst. However, it wasn't as bad as I was anticipating it being. Maybe it was because I had lower expectations than usual, I don't know. But I didn't think it was as bad as it was being made out to be. The flaws will probably be more evident once I end up watching the DVD in a few months, but I can't say that I hated the movie.

While the franchise's transition to 3D was unnecessary, I did like how they used it. It looked really good, really immersive, and better than some other recently-released 3D movies that I've seen. But what I didn't like was the ending. I can't say too much without giving spoilers, but it ended up raising more questions than it answered. You'd think a movie being billed as the final chapter of a franchise would be a bit more conclusive, but that's not the case with Saw 3D. It's like they were hedging their bets in case they change their minds and make Saw VIII next year. And now that it's been announced that the movie is sitting atop the box office rankings, I fully expect another Saw movie. If the Friday the 13th franchise can have two final chapters and Freddy Krueger can have one of his own, then surely Jigsaw can return after what is supposed to be his grand finale.

So anyway, that's my quick opinion of Saw 3D. It's not a tremendously bad movie, but the 3D effects are really the only thing that would make me want to see it theatrically again. I'm going to give it two and a half stars, almost three, and suggest that you just wait for the DVD release.

And speaking of movies, I just thought I'd add to the ending of this post that last weekend, I posted my review of Paranormal Activity 2 over at the S@TM blog. So feel free to go check that out. Anyway, I hope you're having a great Halloween, and will keep on having one.