When the first SAW movie came out and I watched it I was stunned. Here was a mystery that slowly unfolded before my eyes. All the pieces of the puzzle were there, an apt description since the main bad guy was named Jigsaw. The movie presented a fresh new face for horror but was limited in both scope and location. Writers James Wan and Leigh Whannell had written a near perfect mystery.
The success of that film made them big stars down the line and led to a series of SAW films. At first I wasn’t convinced they could carry on especially since the second one was the weakest. But as they each unfolded the long term story was told. What seemed like the end in the first film was actually the beginning, pulling the viewer down a gore fueled bloody path that came to a complete end.
But Hollywood never lets a successful franchise go away. Talk began of yet another story involving the character of Jigsaw character being made. Chris Rock was attached to it. The bad news for the film was that the pandemic kicked in just as it was about to be released. But it did get there and now it arrives on disc.
Rock stars as Det. Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks. Zeke almost always works alone due to the fact that he turned in a dirty cop who killed a witness. The blue code is strong in this city and rather than be celebrated for doing the right thing the rest of the detectives shun him. He’s bitter, going through a divorce and seems to be the only cop on the force looking for justice.
As the film opens Det. Marv Bozwick (Dan Petronijevic) chases down a purse thief into the subway tunnels beneath the city. He’s captured there and when he wakes finds himself chained, standing on a ladder on the tracks with his tongue in a vice and a TV nearby. It fires up and ask him if he wants to play a game. His lies in court have sent innocents to their deaths. He can jump and have his tongue yanked out or stay and have the next train hit him. Taking too long to decide both things happen.
Zeke is handed a new partner named Det. William Schenk (Max Minghella) fresh from the academy by his captain Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols). Preferring to work alone he begrudgingly takes on the new partner and they get the next case in line, the demolished corpse in the subway tracks.
Working the case they find clues seemingly left behind on purpose. Zeke has a feeling that something seems familiar here. When they return to the office he has a package waiting for him, a small box with a thumb drive on it. The drive shows the murder and offers another clue. Going to the location in the video they find a spiral like that used by Jigsaw who is now dead and another clue, the tongue and badge of Det. Bozwick.
Zeke pushes Garza to appoint him the head of the task force investigating this murder. The detectives are reluctant at first but eventually fall in line. After their first day of working the case Zeke goes home to discover his father, Marcus Banks (Samuel Jackson) the ex-chief, waiting in his apartment. Words are exchanged and he leaves only to later follow up on a lead of his own.
More officers are killed, more body parts as clues are left behind and we the viewers see the demise of each officer in glorious gross detail involving various machines of death. The big question is who is behind these killings if Jigsaw is dead? A follower? And why these particular officers, each one with a dirty secret to tell? Why does this revolve around Zeke? The answer are delivered in the final portion of the film. Some will be satisfied and others not. But the movie does add another chapter in the story of SAW.
Rock does a great job here. For years he’s appeared too young to handle a mature role like this. He does so here showing that he has the capability to take the lead in a film and deliver the goods. The supporting casts also does a great job but none stand out and perhaps that is because the film focuses mostly on Rock’s character.
If you’re a fan of the series you will enjoy this one. The gadgets of death don’t quite live up to previous efforts though. If you’re at all squeamish this movie might not be for you. And if you are wondering, yes they do leave it open for a sequel.
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