First major strength is the performance by Scott Patterson, the development with him in the film is great stuff...we start with him escaping a execution trap and a pay off to a very small scene from Saw IV featuring him flicking a pen.
This was a cool direction to go in, having a character who isn't so easy to get rid off and will stop at nothing to catch the Jigsaw Killer.
The cinematography in the film is incredible, I love how to the Head Cube trap is introduced. It starts with a small light box in the centre of the screen, then it zooms in on Strahm's head trapped...then it slowly pans out again, this time lights flash on revealing the small scale of the trap. It's great stuff.
I'm sad to admit that parts of this movie are a bit underwhelming, I believe this movie was affected by the writers strike as Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan wrote it within only a few weeks...however compared to that abysmal "Hellraiser: Revelations" they at least made a very watchable story in the short time.
Also watching behind the scenes for the traps, they mention "oh we had this in the mind for Saw IV" a lot.
You see, everything with Strahm going off the books to catch Hoffman and find out his involvement is great stuff, but the side story with the 5 people going through various rooms is an interesting idea but it save for the final one (seriously, one of the most brutal practical effects of the entire series) none of the traps are that interesting or engaging....I did crack up laughing when one character's final words were simply "wait!"
The version of the theme song in the movie entitled "Zepp Five" made my heart race the first time I heard it, easily my favourite version of the theme very closely followed by Zepp Eight.
In conclusion,
Saw V isn't really a movie you need my word on to decide if you want to see it...if you're a fan of the series...you've probably all ready seen it...if you like horror films with lots of blood n gore...you will probably seek it out.
If you're neither....well this won't convince you, however I do not feel Saw V deserves the hate it gets...cause despite some shortcomings...this movie did a lot of really awesome stuff.
