1.5/4  Review: "Saw V"
"Saw V" is pretty much shows this franchise is running on fumes. The first one was something of a horror gem that relied on suspense and story rather than most of the sequels that thrived on gory death scenes. A lot of people have lost fai... (read full)

2.5/4  saw it. But, didn't like it.
Like most horror series, the first one is always the best. Well, it's no different here. But, I'll give it a 2.5 for effort. Also, the tracheotomy scene was pretty cool. Unbelieveable, yes. But, cool nevertheless. And I'm sure I'll get suc... (read full)

3/4  Could have been better
It was not what i expected from the series. The fact that the "new" jigsaw was fine at the end of lets you know that there will be another, the good guys have to win uin the end. The ending needed something more. It was not as gruesome ... (read full)

2/4  Game Over
It is truly disappointing to see this franchise demise since the last two films came out. What it was reduce to and how shallow the plot can be is really just an excuse to make more Saw installments. It seems the best plot they can come up... (read full)

3/4  See-Saw
The fifth installment of the "Saw" series has a noticably different style than its predecessors. It is not as frantic. However, neither is it as intricate.

For me, that is a good thing, as "Saw IV" had a little too much going on. But... (read full)

1/4  35%
Action: 1.5/3 + Comedy: 0/2 + Good vs Evil: 0.5/1 + Love/Sex: 0.5/1 + Special Effects: 0.5/1 + Plot: 0/1 + Music: 0.5/1 = 3.5/10 or 35%.

Nothing original and at some point they may as well re-release one of the past 4 and call it Saw VI... (read full)

1/4  Saw V Quick Review
Terrrible. This starts the downfall of the Saw franchise. Good going Hack-L. You def can not direct worth hell. Cause Saw V is horrible. Not even a horror movie.

3/5 You Wont Belive How It Ends?....Naw, Yeah You Will
  by Sebastian Sanjurjo (Miami FL)
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2YTJGHC589C7Y

2/5 I No Longer "Want To Play A Game"
  by Zachary Koenig (Fergus Falls, MN)
In 2004, the original "Saw" film breathed new life into the horror movie genre. Though enticing viewers with some of the most graphic horror scenes in cinematic history, the real "hook" of the film was its morality-play plotline. Using a tact rarely taken in the annals of horror movies, Saw actually created doubt in the viewers' minds as to whether the "victims" were exactly that. Though perverse, the demented Jigsaw killer was doling out justice in a seminal way that everyone can relate to (even if it horrifies their "good side").

With each subsequent film, however, that magic has been lost, little by little. While Saw II just fed off the hype of the original and didn't mess with the formula and Saw III was interesting for the "dying Jigsaw" plotline, the two most recent installments have failed to recapture that spark of the "original trilogy". Saw IV was just outright confusing, while this film suffers from two major maladies:

First, the departure from the tried-and-true formula of regular citizens being tested in their weakest area. Like I said, the strength of the first few Saw movies was the writers' abilities to make audiences think about the morality of what was reality transpiring. This film, however, doesn't really take that tact and instead just focuses on clearing up all the loose ends from the fourth release. Though perhaps a noble cause for hard-core Saw fans, this line of storytelling only served to irritate me, as Saw IV was where I saw the series begin going downhill and thus didn't want to go in that direction again.

The other notable departure is a moving away from the Jigsaw character. To me, Jigsaw is at the very heart of what the Saw franchise is all about, and the series really isn't active unless he is in it. The flashbacks in IV were interesting, but Jigsaw's presence in V just seemed to be an excuse to bring back Tobin Bell, not to advance the plot in any meaningful way.

Thus, I see the Saw franchise as being at a paradox right now. One direction would be to continue on with the "Jigsaw lineage" and further dilute the original material (the likely path in order to please the die-hard scrutinizers), while the other, more inventive approach would be to come up with something new. Perhaps someone subjecting one of these psychopaths to their own devices?! At any rate, Saw VI will likely be the measuring stone of the "Saw future" considering the failure of this installment.

5/5 great movie
  by Charlie (NY, USA)
If blood guts and gore are your thing, then you will definitely continue to love this chain of movies. It wrapped up a few unanswered questions and gave a really good back story. But you need to have seen all the previous movies to properly understand what is going on here. You can't jump the gun to V or else you will be confused. If I say anymore I will end up giving spoilers.

1/5 "USED" MEANS NO ARTWORK NOR CASE
  by punkaag (massapequa, ny USA)
I give this TRANSACTION (read: not the movie) 1-Star. The DVD arrived in a generic clear DVD holder with a sticker "sealing" it closed. No artwork, no movie box, nothing - literally just the disc. There was a piece of paper with the shipment informing me that "disc in condition as advertised" --- you are about to order this movie from the same page I did and I don't see anything alerting me to the aforementioned. In fact, the picture shows the disc AND artwork, so why wouldn't I be surprised to find this generic case?! Correct me if I am wrong, but "used" should mean "watched," right? Where is the rest of box and booklet? If I had bought this anywhere else I would have sworn it was a duplicate or bootleg. This is our first movie purchase off amazon.com and we aren't very thrilled...

2/5 Yeah, um, more of the same.
  by Robert P. Beveridge (Cleveland, OH)
Saw V (David Hackl, 2008)

I understand that the economics of Hollywood state that a series will continue to have new films made as long as that series remains profitable (and if you factor in DVD rentals, it's hard to imagine a series film not being profitable these days). Once you get to a certain point, however, you have to wonder why people continue to make these movies profitable. The Saw series has been nothing more than an excuse for the screenwriters to come up with more inventive ways to kill people since the second flick. This one continues on in the same tradition: do some basic exploration of the killer's back story while coming up with a fresh new crop of victims stuck in inventive traps.

This time we get parallel stories: that of how Agent Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), Jigsaw's other apprentice, became a part of the family, and Strahm (Scott Patterson) racing to save a group of six victims stuck in Jigsaw's most recent devious scheme, a series of traps they have to get through while figuring out what it is they all have in common.

When it comes right down to it, like the rest of the recent movies in the series, Saw V is watchable, but not much else. If you're looking for originality, scripting, above-average directorial work, great acting, or anything else, this is probably one to avoid. If you've liked the second, third, and fourth movies, this one will satisfy you just as much. ** ½