We now find ourselves in the downward slope of the Saw series as Saw IV stretches credibility to the breaking point.
Saw IV (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:67
Fresh:12
Rotten:55
Average Rating:3.7/10
Consensus: Saw IV is more disturbing than compelling, with material already seen in the prior installments.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture throughout, and for language.
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Oct 26, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $63,270,259
Synopsis: The fourth SAW film takes fans into uncharted waters. Now that John/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead, screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (writers of the Project Greenlight-produced FEAST)... The fourth SAW film takes fans into uncharted waters. Now that John/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead, screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (writers of the Project Greenlight-produced FEAST) give us Jigsaw's "origin" story--finally showing us why he does what he does. Along they way, they still find time to work in the usual dose of elaborate Rube Goldberg-like torture devices and heaps of MPAA-defying gore in what plays like an extreme version of CSI. During his (extremely graphic) autopsy, Jigsaw's final tape (swallowed in SAW III) is found in his stomach. Promising that his work will continue despite his passing, his message sets off a series of grisly tasks for anxious SWAT team leader Rigg (Lyriq Bent), who is given 90 minutes to rescue detectives Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), who are to be dispatched via blocks of ice and high voltage wires. Trailing Rigg are FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson of GILMORE GIRLS) and Perez (Athena Karkanis), who get some unexpected blood on their hands along the way. A series of flashbacks details a pivotal event between Jigsaw and his girlfriend, Jill (1980s beauty Betsy Russell, PRIVATE SCHOOL), which inspired him to devote the remainder of his life to the creation of his signature puzzles. Darren Lynn Bousman, director of the previous two sequels, returns once again to ensure that the series retains its trademark desaturated look. Though viewers starting with this installment may find the brief glimpses of characters from the previous films confusing, fans should be pleased with how the films link together. They are also sure to appreciate that, like FRIDAY THE 13th carrying on sans Jason in PART IV: A NEW BEGINNING, the death of Jigsaw won't keep the franchise from evolving into SAW V and beyond. [More]
Starring: Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Costas Mandylor
Starring: Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Costas Mandylor, Lyriq Bent, Justin Louis, Athena Karkanis, Simon Reynolds
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Screenwriter: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
Story: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan, Thomas Fenton
Producer: Gregg Hoffman, Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Composer: Charlie Clouser
Studio: Lions Gate Films
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Reviews for Saw IV
Jigsaw is an interesting character with an interesting worldview and an interesting way of carrying out his will. It's too bad the movies themselves aren't worthy of him.
I do wish that these movies were well made, because I actually think the premises are quite clever, but unless a veteran who is more confident in his abilities takes over, we are left with what could have been...
Poor Jigsaw. The architect of the most deadly traps ever committed to celluloid has endured inoperable cancer, a debilitating car crash and even the premature death of his son, but nothing as painful or degrading as 'Saw IV.'
... any serious consideration of the killer's fascination with violence is superseded by the director's (and the returning viewers') own sadistic pleasures.
Outro típico exemplar da série: o final, como de hábito, é até engenhoso, mas a fórmula cada vez mais desgastada exige paciência até que cheguemos a ele.
Whereas the first Saw and the third met the right balance, the second film and now the fourth push things a little too far and end up being less effective as a result.
Were it not for the saving grace of Tobin Bell's mere presence, there's little doubt that Saw IV would come off about as well as a typical straight-to-video horror sequel.
Torture, you may recall, used to be an unparsable, unpardonable sin. Now it's porn.
Like many villains before him, John turns out to have been wronged rather randomly, an act of terrible violence that he absorbs into his worldview.
Opens with the clinically graphic dissection of the deceased Jigsaw, who finally lives up to (dies down to?) his name by being separated into pieces...
Might be the best since the first, but still a task to watch. A painful, meaningless task.
Previously, Jigsaw and the filmmakers played fair, but too much about this latest instalment seems simply arbitrary.
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