'Saw III'

Some movies should have been cut off after the first one was made.

For example, Saw was a great movie. Although it was bloody, it did have a good story line and the twist at the end was great.

In 2005, Saw II was released. It was entertaining, but it didn't quite live up to the first.

Just recently, the third installment in the series hit theaters. It follows the downward trend started by the second. Saw III is worse than the second and way worse than the first.

I mean "worse" in several ways.

First of all, the torture scenes are worse because they are more disturbing and gory.

Most of them are vomit inducing, so I would not recommend seeing this movie right after eating a large meal.

The movie is also worse in terms of plot. While it seems interesting on paper, it just doesn't have the same appeal on the screen.

True to the earlier versions of Saw, this movie has two story lines operating at the same time.

One is that Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) -- the man behind all the previous crimes -- is dying.

He has a makeshift hospital room set up in a warehouse, and with the help of his protégé Amanda (Shawnee Smith), he kidnaps Dr. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) to help keep him alive.

Lynn must help keep Jigsaw alive because she has a contraption around her neck that will explode if Jigsaw's heart monitor flatlines.

The second part of the plot revolves around a man named Jeff (Angus Macfadyen) whose son was killed by a drunk driver. Jigsaw and Amanda have set up a series of tests that Jeff must go through. In each test, he can choose to forgive a person that was involved in his son's death. If he doesn't, that person meets a gruesome end.

The first Saw had deep undertones that made the gore seem worth it. People who had been taking life for granted were placed in traps that more or less tested their will to live.

Saw III, however, didn't seem to have this same seriousness about it. Instead, the plot felt like it was simply creating opportunities to include as many gross or violent scenes as possible. The characters in the movie also bothered me. There's really no protagonist and there is nobody to root for.

Jigsaw and Amanda are obviously out of the running for a hero. Lynn has a failing marriage and neglected children.

Jeff is harboring too much anger to be likeable; he has to be convinced to save people from dying.

After sitting through this movie for an hour or so, I was looking forward to the inevitable twist at the end.

Unfortunately, that let me down too.

I can't reveal it here, but I can say the twist wasn't as entertaining or surprising as those of the first two. It wasn't predictable, but it could've been better.

This movie wasn't a total waste of money, but I think the filmmakers could have made it into something greater than it really is.

It seems like they chose shock value instead of quality.

According to The Associated Press, there is a Saw IV in the works. Hopefully it won't continue on the downward trend set by the first three. Grade: C

-- Reviewed by Lauren Bressler