Saw X

X frames Kramer like a tragic hero instead of a complete maniac with a thing for Rube Goldberg homicide, and swears by the wobbly moral mechanism he believes will balance his soul’s ledger.

This is a long way to go for a film that when it first came out they thought it was going to go straight to video... 10 films, a billion dollar franchise and it feels like there's the potential for even more.

[Previous reboots] both failed to grasp Kramer’s star power. Saw X does not make that mistake, leading to one of the franchise’s strongest installments since the original, mostly because it gives Jigsaw center stage.

[Tobin Bell's] half-cracked grandeur, boosted by [Shawnee] Smith’s skewed stares of adoration, sends the movie into a loopy giddiness. Saw X may not be the best one to start off with, but it’s hard to imagine a better one to end with.

It’s thoroughly unpleasant, but that’s rather the point.

Saw X wipes that silliness out, positioning itself as a direct sequel to "Saw" and presenting a singular, streamlined story of revenge that works from a clear channel of logic.

Saw X is probably one of the best Saw films in over ten years and has rejuvenated and refreshed the series.

This is the best sequel of the bunch, and it may end up sitting at the top of the franchise. Beyond the shocking moments, this gives us the best John Kramer we have seen yet. Tobin Bell is brilliant.

Despite being a little too long it does keep the momentum going for the most part, making this the most satisfying Saw movie since Saw VI.

Once the blood begins to flow, Saw X tears ahead with brutal, surgical precision and typically excellent practical effects.