1. Saw VI
2. Saw
3. Saw V
4. Saw IV
5. Saw 3D
6. Saw III
7. Saw II
*****
"Hee hee hee...quit touching my junk, pervert"!
Tickle Me Bender- Futurama
Saw
Saw III
Saw II
Saw V
Saw IV
Saw 3D
Saw VI
1. Saw
2. Saw III
3. Saw II
4. Saw VI
5. Saw IV
6. Saw V
7. Saw VII
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 that's the combination an idiot would have for his luggage
You'd think I was Spanish how well I roll a L
Seeing so many people rank Saw VI highly has me intrigued. I haven't watched parts 4 - 6 in a long time. Surprised it's held in such high regard.
As for OPs ranking. Bleh! Saw II & Saw III as the two worst?
Yeah 6 for me was a big step up from 5. I didn't actually hate 5 other then a few big issues, but I thought 6 brought back a more quality film.
For me 2 and 3 are up there as my favorites. Once I saw the directors cut of 3 (or whichever the longer version was), 3 went up to my second favorite. I really think the extra scenes make that movie better.
I really need to rewatch 4-6 and check out the others. I've never watched Spiral or Jigsaw. Maybe not even part 7, I can't remember to be honest.
4-6 (and maybe 7) are a bit of a blur in my mind. Seeing so many people, yourself included, praising 6 really makes me want to check the last couple out again. I may just do that.
I think 3 is my favorite. It's the one I watched the most during the 00s and early 10s. When I revisited 2 & 3 earlier this year (for the first time in at least five years), 3 was such a revelation. So many of the strongest memories of the franchise that I have are from that film. Every single trap segment in it was ingrained in my mind (the chains, pigs, 'angel trap', the rack, the woman frozen to death). I must have watched that DVD religiously back in the day.
I'm planning on watching every Saw movie next year (I'll probably do one a day or so), right before Saw 10 comes out. It would be cool to hear your thoughts on the rest of the movies and see how you feel before next Halloween!
I go back and fourth if I like 2 better than 6, or the other way around. I definitely rate both of them higher. With 6, I think the pacing is really good; 4 felt really rushed in some parts, while 5 was a little too slow. 6 seemed to find a good spot.
Yeah 3 is great. I agree, I really like most of the traps in 3, they were memorable!
I watched the rest of the franchise.
My rankings as of now;
1. Saw III
2. Saw II
3. Saw
4. Saw VI
5. Saw IV
6. Saw V
7. Jigsaw
8. Saw 3D/The Final Chapter
9. Spiral
IV - This one held up quite well but felt like a tonal shift. This was probably the 'darkest' entry in the franchise, the traps felt more gratuitous and the characters more despicable (some of the victims included a pimp/prostitute?, a rapist, a child abuser). Then you have the miscarriage subplot. Very grim film. These slightly more distasteful moments hold it back compared to the first three. A good film but this was definitely where the 'torture porn' label started becoming somewhat apt.
V - This is one of the more boring and less memorable entries. Not a bad film but even after watching it just two nights ago it's a bit of a blur already. (I watched it the same night as IV & VI) I remember VI more even though I watched it after (later at night and more drunk).
VI - Yeah this one was very good. I'd have it below the first three but it's the best of the rest. Good traps, twists and pacing. One of the more entertaining entries.
3D/The Final Chapter - What a tonal shift. This was the most comedic and lighthearted entry, the kills/gore were over the top and silly. This film really went for the 'popcorn' teen film vibe. The worst of the original 7. Also it was very cheap looking (I've heard the color grading was botched for home releases and has never been fixed). I can believe that because this is the worst in the franchise with regards to cinematography.
Jigsaw - This carried on the more comedic/lighthearted parts that I disliked from 3D. It however is quite a glossy and slick production, maybe too slick compared to the original entries. A decent enough film I thought, but still one of the weaker entries.
Spiral - The most removed from the franchise. This film carried on the comedic aspects of the previous two to a certain extent. I prefer the Saw films to be serious like the original 6 were.
CONTD.
Spiral just feels the least 'Saw-like'. That's what really does it in. 3D was dumber but benfitted from being a continuation of the original continuity. You had the characters who played big parts in IV-VI featured and I'd also say 3D was probably more entertaining than Spiral. Hence why Spiral falls last on the list.
With regards to the original three.
Saw - A great film however I feel the franchise really came into it's own in the sequels. The sequels benefitted from more screentime with John Kramer, more background for him, more traps and a better showcase for them (more gore). This one benefits greatly from James Wans direction. Arguably the best directed/edited in the franchise.
Saw II - A great sequel. The large group of victims having something in common and their group dynamics (working together or against one another) became a franchise staple and was copied in later entries. It gives us more background, Amanda Young gets more screentime and the twist at the end was great.
Saw III - The best for me. The longest entry with the most interesting story. More screentime with Amanda Young is great. The traps are very memorable, definitely the best of the first three in that regard. I really like Dr. Lynns character she's a likable protagonist. Jeffs test is good, you understand his hurt and vengeful nature. Some of the later 'test subjects' in other films like part IV are simply people who are involved in the case and haven't done anything wrong (their sin is trying to save others) or they're smarmy assholes (like in 3D). Jeff didn't do anything wrong but the tests enabled him to ultimately forgive some of those for his heartache. In other entries the tests sometimes revolve around encourgaing the subject to just do nothing (parts II and IV). Those sort of tests aren't as good as the one in III.
Wow, that's cool you were able to catch up! I'm sure it was fun revisiting them. It looks like your rankings are pretty similar to mine. I agree with what you said: I like when John's character is more front and center in the story. I think that's why 2 and 3 are so good, besides having great traps and a better story. The twists in 2 were awesome back then, and I remember watching it in the theater, and when they revealed the bathroom from Saw 1 Iremember everyone in the theater went crazy. I know what you mean about Saw 3; I liked Jeff's character a lot and its definitely one of the better stories.
Saw 4 is tough for me because on one hand I thought it had one of the greatest twists in all the movies (the time twist, which I never saw coming). It also had traps i thought were really good like the see no evil, speak no evil trap, but then it has ones I thought were crappy like the child abuser guy in the hotel (the trap just seemed kinda lame). While some scenes were really interesting like the autopsy and John's past, I really hated how they edited the film, with the cutaways or whatever it's called.
I'm curious what you thought of this, but for me Saw 5's side story with the characters stuck in the sewer line / bunker thing were easily my least favorite group out of any movie. They just weren't interesting at all, and I thought almost all of their traps weren't good. The only traps I thought were cool were the other ones; the water box and the glass coffin. I still think 5 is okay, just slower paced, but it is not my favorite.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts I enjoyed reading them. Also sorry if my text on here is squished, I'm still kind of new to posting here and I'm not sure how to fix this.
It was fun. Having watched them all I now know that I'd never seen Saw 3D. So I got to watch 3D, Jigsaw & Spiral for the first time.
The twist in 4 was good. It confused me for a second as the autopsy at the start evidently takes place after 3 and there is no hint that the rest of the film took place before the autopsy until the reveal. It was good being able to experience the twist again as if for the first time, as I'd forgotten it.
I agree about the characters in 5. That's probably one of the reasons 5 is a very middling entry. As I said I watched it along with 4 & 6 in the same night and I remember a lot more about 4 & 6 which is quite telling. I did enjoy the film but it's just not very memorable. With regards to the traps yeah, the glass coffin at the end was great and the water box which was featured heavily on posters for the film is quite memorable. The others were quite poor. Stuff like smashing glass jars to get a key to hide from a bomb, the bathtub. Very mediocre. The most memorable of the five test subjects was the bearded journalist. As a character said in the film, he was an asshole but smart. The dynamic of the group went flat as soon as he bit the dust. Part 2 did the whole test subjects group dynamic much better.
This will be fun! I've gone back and fourth on some of them over the years. I've watched all the movies many times, with the exception of Saw 3D / 7 and Spiral; I've only seen both of them twice. Here is my present list from the best to worst:
1. Saw
2. Saw 3
3. Saw 6
4. Saw 2
5. Saw 4
6. Jigsaw
7. Saw 5
8. Saw 3D / 7
9. Spiral
Saw 1 for me is still number 1; I just love the bathroom puzzle, the more simple storyline and the end twist was incredible for me.
Lowest is Spiral right now. As much as I didn't like 3D / 7, I think it still edges it out a little.