Saw (2004): I wrote about Saw X a couple of years ago and thought this was as good a time as any to look back on the original. I still think it’s a cool movie for its time, the kind that leaves more of a mark than the critics are willing to accept. It’s an imperfect movie, but the concept clearly struck a chord with viewers – and had enough steam for a decalogy. Although I remembered it as brutal, it doesn’t hold a candle to what was to follow, dabbling instead in a heavily contorted plot to keep its mystery alive. If you’re too detail-oriented, this might be a turn-off, as not everything makes sense. Heck, a lot of things don’t. But otherwise, it works as a good enough whodunit and it cemented its legacy with one of the hardest hitting endings I have seen. 7
Saw X (2023): So I had to rewatch it, to do a proper comparison. And in many ways, this is a “cleaner” movie, in the way it tells its story and finds satisfying resolutions for its characters. Tobin Bell’s Kramer is easily sympathetic, in an aging Luigi Mangione style, to the point where it is really hard to think of him as a villain. That is helped by more despicable people surrounding him, but still, not an easy feat. Although Saw X follows up on the first one, chronologically, it’s not a seamless sequel, with legacy characters established throughout the series rearing their heads. Also, it’s almost easy to expect the twists and turns that are to come, given the established Saw brand, but the execution makes it all good, gory fun. Which brings me to my original rating, which was a 6+, because however decent Saw X is, it will be forgotten, whereas the original won’t. That said, just because I lack the guts to go against “my system” and rate Saw higher, doesn’t mean this one shouldn’t get a clean 7
High School Musical (2006): Before school-based musicals became kinda cool (I’m looking at you Glee), they were still hated. HSM lives in this infamy, although it’s just a very tame, sing-songy movie oriented at young teenagers, Disney style. It, of course, offered us the pairing of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, who both went on to do more interesting things with their careers. But while it never really amounts to anything significant, interesting or funny, it does work (overly) hard on bringing some clean, positive messaging to the so-often toxic workplace of underage people. Shame that it’s hard to see it as anything other than cookie-cutter morality to a world inhabited by teenagers with no personality, driven solely by acceptance and validation. 5
High School Musical 2 (2007): The supposed “best” movie in the HSM series, this sequel looks a bit more fresh and has more memorable musical numbers. That’s all nice, but unfortunately it loses the brownie points gained by being stretched out to almost two hours, without doing much in terms of plot or characters. There’s nothing new brought to the table, it’s just more mush mush silly conflict and a Miley Cyrus cameo. And, believe it or not, the ending feels rushed, but that’s probably because HSM doesn’t bother to be more than a vehicle for its leads. 5
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008): I’m a completionist, so I had to go through the whole trilogy once I started it. What strikes me about HSM is how consistent it is – I think HSM2 was a bit better than the first, particularly with improved musical numbers, and HSM3 probably has the best songs of the series. This is just my take, I have no idea what was popular back when. Unfortunately, although the last twenty minutes are serviceable, the rest of the movie is absolutely forgettable, with next to no plot action. Again, I might be pedantic, but the only character that shows any kind of internal motion is Efron’s Troy and maybe Lucas Grabeel’s Ryan. The others are one note presences, which really leaves no one to root for. Not that there are any stakes here that require much rooting. 5
tributary stu 