SAW X
Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Octavio Hinojosa, Paulette Hernández, Renata Vaca, Joshua Okamoto, Steven Brand, and Michael Beach
Director: Kevin Greutert
NICK
Although I’m a fan of the Saw franchise’s earlier films (especially the debut), the focus turned away from story and towards the torture porn aspect, which wasn’t for me. Saw X tries to remedy this with a deeper focus on John Kramer, the man, which finally gives Tobin Bell a chance to flesh out the character. You still have all the trademarks of the series - gore, twists, and traps - but without the failure to remember that these films need more than that. I'm not saying it necessarily justifies a continuation of the series, but it at least shows there are signs of life.
PHILL
It’s hard to care about a franchise that has ended twice. The Saw saga very obviously regretted killing off John Kramer (Tobin Bell) in SAW III because, in the subsequent seven films, the writers have consistently found increasingly contrived ways to bring the character back, with Saw X lazily going for the midquel approach. There is not much new here in the tenth entry, though. It’s a Saw film; its only innovation is that it has more plot than its nine predecessors. However, it’s not very interesting, and it’s hard to sympathise with a serial killer.
