MOVIE REVIEW You won't see much to like in 'Saw'

The acting ranges from OK to please, make it stop.
By BETSY PICKLE
SCRIPPS HOWARD
"Saw." Seen it before. You have, too.
Liked it better when it was called "Seven." Much more intelligent. And complex. Cared about the characters then. This time not so much.
Sorry, my head's still trapped in the staccato cadence of "Saw," a frenetic and gory film that dreams of being the new hot indie thing, the "Blair Witch" of serial-killer movies. Instead, it's an intermittently watchable thriller caught in a terminal web of mimicry.
Though it stirred some buzz at January's Sundance Film Festival, "Saw" is likely to impress only those who've lately become eligible to watch R-rated movies (or have recently figured out how to fool the system). "Dude, did you see that?!" and "Ooh, gross!" will be the pinnacle of praise for this middling effort.
The problem
"Saw" is all atmosphere and action, with scant attention paid to plot and zero to character development. While there's something to be said for a movie that gets straight to the point, there's a problem when you don't care if the characters live or die.
The would-be victims of "Saw's" serial killer are Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and a slacker named Adam (Leigh Whannell). The screen is dark when both of them regain consciousness and start making loud noises before finding a light switch.
Larry and Adam discover that each of them is chained by the ankle to a pipe in a filthy bathroom. A man who apparently blew his brains out is lying between them in the middle of the room. They glean obscure clues about why they're there and how to achieve freedom. It becomes clear that the saws provided them won't cut through their chains.
Time is of the essence because it's 10:22, and Larry has until 6 to free himself and escape or kill Adam. Otherwise, his wife, Alison (Monica Potter), and daughter, Diana (Makenzie Vega), will die. Larry deduces that their tormenter is the Jigsaw Killer, who diabolically devises ways for victims to off themselves.
Despite its energetic pace and its loud and equally lively soundtrack, "Saw" often drags. The bathroom scenes try viewers' patience enough, but there are also dull, puzzling flashbacks involving Larry, Adam or the police detective, Tapp (Danny Glover), obsessed with finding the killer. The only rewarding stroll down memory lane involves a druggie, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), who managed to escape Jigsaw.
Acting
The acting ranges from adequate to annoying, with newcomer Whannell taking top honors for the latter.
"Saw's" imagery and viciousness are derivative of numerous films in the thriller and horror genres. Voyeuristic cameras, grisly deaths and clown faces aren't exactly fresh tricks.
Director James Wan and screenwriter Whannell want to create a serial killer as clever as those in "Seven" and "The Silence of the Lambs," but they have a long way to go. Add to that shortfall enough plot holes to drive a morgue wagon through, and "Saw" barely registers after the last frame.