Who would've thought that the 11th Saw film would be amongst the very best of the sequels. I may even be the best sequel. Just when it looked like it was all out of ideas, they made Spiral with big stars. It was a disaster and came across as a fan-made fart of a film... Saw X thinks outside the box and gives us something different (whilst still containing the gory traps that are central to the film). Somehow, they;ve made Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) semi-sympathetic by making his victims even worse than he is (by miles). But the film's strength lies in plain sight, it gives the most intriguing charcter, Jigsaw, centre stage. And Tobin Bell is a fine actor, and he recognises that this is his turn to shine.
It's a shame that the film kind of conks out towards the end and the pay-off hinges on coincidences rather than mapped out plans. But given that this is set between Saw 1 & 2, Jigsaw and Amanda were still early in the game and prone to making mistakes. They just claim everything went to plan at the end... even after they lost control of their captives. An interesting sequel. Not without it's faults, it's still very entertaining and stands out from the pack. Definitely an improvement on Spiral, that's for sure.
5.5 out of 10