Saw: The Final Chapter (2010)

Saw: The Final Chapter did to some extent what the name implies; gave us some closure.  Did it do entirely?  No.  The ending was left open, much to NO surprise.  There was some closure however that actually was quite good.  In what I would call the best movie of the series, Saw: The Final Chapter solidly "closes" out the franchise.

Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell and Cary Elwes reprise their roles for one last time, while Sean Patrick Flanery and Chad Donella are added to the core cast.  Acting, on the whole, was absolutely incredible.  A few new characters were introduced, as with every one of the sequels.  Some of the small characters have no bearing on the critique, but the major new characters did quite well.  The original cast that has been with the entire time gave their best performances of the series.

I enjoyed the traps and games in this last chapter as much or more than most of the previous ones.  The traps and games were honestly winnable this time around, which takes us back to the original message of the birth of the series.  Most of the traps were new this time around again, which I have enjoyed that same fact throughout the entire run of Saw.  Saw: The Final Chapter brings us back to the old core message that the people involved have something wrong with their lives and they need to learn a lesson. We dive further into that concept and explore that many people who have been in the games are better off after surviving, and in many aspects grateful on some level they were subjected to the torture.

The only trap I didn't think was fully "winnable" was the brutal public opening trap that pits a girlfriend against her two boyfriends that didn't know the other existed.  They had to choose whether she was worth saving by one of them killing the other boyfriend or submitting and killing themselves.  They could both live by letting her die, but all three could not live.

As with each prior, new twists and plot secrets are revealed that further entwine the entire story but help develop and finalize the entire plot from start to end.  There are, for the most part, no questions left unanswered after this final addition.

Most of these new twists were right in front of our faces the entire time once you figure them out and really think about them.  This has been one of my favorite features of the entire run, questions left unanswered are very simple yet we can't figure them out without watching the next installment.

In a two part rating (for the first time I have been able to do such a thing) Saw: The Final Chapter gets a 5 star review, while the entire Saw franchise gets a 4 star review.  Saw: The Final Chapter is the perfect close to an amazingly sick and twisted film that leaves you with all your questions answered except...will there be another?  Ciao for now and see you for the next review!