As a huge fan of Chris Rock and a huge fan of the 'Saw' series, when I heard that Rock was behind the revamped 'Spiral' movie we were getting I was beyond excited. Then a worldwide pandemic came along delaying the film by 12 months which only served to get my anticipation levels up that little bit higher. The end product is an interesting one. It's better in some ways than I hoped, and less so in others than what I hoped.
What really took me by surprise the most was how much I liked Rock as the lead. Early on we get a little stand-up routine from him (in context of the movie of course - more or less) and then here and there we get little glimpses of his terrific humour which he has obviously inserted into the script himself. But when it's time to get serious he is more than capable. He brings great intensity to the movie and combining that with his natural charisma, makes for a great centrepiece of the film.
The film takes a little bit of a step-back in terms of the brutality of some of the traps. Make no mistake, there are some brutal things to watch in this movie, however I suspect a conscious effort was made to reign things in just a little. In previous 'Saw' movies it felt like they were going out of their way to make as many audience members faint as possible. Here is just feels like they are trying to find a good balance between keeping the gore-enthusiasts pleased, and keeping those less inclined to enjoy that type of thing in the cinema.
The pacing of the film is lightning quick. There's a little bit of set-up and character introductions early on, but once the action begins it never relents. The film is only 93 minutes admittedly, however it is over before you know it.
There's a new voice on the tapes this time around. At first it took me off-guard and I didn't quite know what to think of it. However by the end of the film it had grown on me a lot. It is very different to the one we had in the original series. I will be interested to hear what other people thought of it. I can see it being quite a polarising thing.
I won't get into the conclusion of the film (always a treat in the 'Saw/Spiral' universe), suffice to say it is quite different to how we are used to these films ending. I still think I need to go back and rewatch the final scene to fully understand certain character's motivations and what they were trying to achieve. The door has been left wide open for more sequels though so if this one is a success then prepare yourself for Spiral 2-8 in the coming years. I say bring them on.
What really took me by surprise the most was how much I liked Rock as the lead. Early on we get a little stand-up routine from him (in context of the movie of course - more or less) and then here and there we get little glimpses of his terrific humour which he has obviously inserted into the script himself. But when it's time to get serious he is more than capable. He brings great intensity to the movie and combining that with his natural charisma, makes for a great centrepiece of the film.
The film takes a little bit of a step-back in terms of the brutality of some of the traps. Make no mistake, there are some brutal things to watch in this movie, however I suspect a conscious effort was made to reign things in just a little. In previous 'Saw' movies it felt like they were going out of their way to make as many audience members faint as possible. Here is just feels like they are trying to find a good balance between keeping the gore-enthusiasts pleased, and keeping those less inclined to enjoy that type of thing in the cinema.
The pacing of the film is lightning quick. There's a little bit of set-up and character introductions early on, but once the action begins it never relents. The film is only 93 minutes admittedly, however it is over before you know it.
There's a new voice on the tapes this time around. At first it took me off-guard and I didn't quite know what to think of it. However by the end of the film it had grown on me a lot. It is very different to the one we had in the original series. I will be interested to hear what other people thought of it. I can see it being quite a polarising thing.
I won't get into the conclusion of the film (always a treat in the 'Saw/Spiral' universe), suffice to say it is quite different to how we are used to these films ending. I still think I need to go back and rewatch the final scene to fully understand certain character's motivations and what they were trying to achieve. The door has been left wide open for more sequels though so if this one is a success then prepare yourself for Spiral 2-8 in the coming years. I say bring them on.