There’s a logical progression at work. Even as Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) dies or Amanda (Shawnee Smith) dies, someone new like Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) and Jill (Betsy Russell) rises to take their place, and the movies have tried their best to make it make sense. That’s right, I just accused Saw scribes Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton of being able to weave together the threads linking their Saw movies. Given that the series has been in their hands since Saw IV (and will be in their hands for Saw VII), it’s good that they’re able to plot out where they want the story to go and communicate that effectively. Dunstan and Melton are telling a larger story here, but they’re doing it in such a way that someone like me can randomly pop in for Saw VI without having seen Saw IV and V and have it still make sense. Part of that is liberal use of flashbacks to previous movies, and part of it is using logic within the story itself. There’s no head-scathingly insane twist. The good thing about a Saw movie is that it doesn’t matter what I say about it. If you’ve seen one or two, then you know exactly what to expect. Opening torture, some scenes of cops hunting for Jigsaw or setting up the story behind the movie’s main game, then more torture, then cops or story, torture, and repeat as necessary until the sequel-building conclusion. Either you’re in the audience that’s going to like this movie, or you’re not. I have to say I didn’t completely dislike Saw VI, but I wasn’t happy with it, either. I felt ripped off by the lack of closure of some sort. The game’s star William (Peter Outerbridge) didn’t satisfy me, as I find it tough to root for a sleazy insurance executive. The acting by all associated parties was perfectly fine, and Kevin Greutert’s direction is fine, but it feels as though the formula is starting to run out of steam. Maybe they’re running out of good torture-porn-y death scenes, or maybe it’s just not shocking anymore because we know to expect several gory death scenes per movie. I don’t know. US correspondent Ron Hogan is disturbed by the fact that he’s impressed by simple logic in movie scripts. Shouldn’t movies make sense? Find more by Ron at his blog, Subtle Bluntness and daily at Shaktronics and PopFi.