Jigsaw Review: 3 Ups & 7 Downs
The "reboot" nobody needed.
The Saw franchise is back with the long-gestating sequel-reboot Jigsaw, because Saw VIII just isn't a good look. Even though the series' dedicated fanbase has been highly anticipating the follow-up, it's safe to say that expectations were never particularly high for this being anything more than a warmed-over retread...and that's basically exactly what it is.
Jigsaw recycles the series' most base elements without bringing much new to the table, and even scaling things back in some respects, while hoping that a new generation of gorehounds might propel it back to box office glory (which it currently looks like they will).
It's certainly not among the worst horror sequels you'll ever see, but it's just a disappointingly familiar, unimaginative attempt to breathe life back into a series that had a perfectly respectable seven-movie run.
Most disappointing of all is that Jigsaw just doesn't offer much hope or intrigue for the future, except a glut of more listless sequels until the box office grosses start dwindling again (and it gets rebooted...again...probably on Netflix this time)...