A trap can only be sprung so many times before it breaks. But Saw, the successful horror film franchise, has been springing its traps for the past seven years, and it hasn't managed to break down thus far. With Saw 3D, however-supposedly the final installment of the series-things unfortunately start to come apart. The franchise has long taken criticism for putting too much emphasis on its macabre traps that pit unwitting subjects against themselves, forcing self-mutilation and psychological torture as a way for people who are unworthy of their lives to reclaim them. This has been the titular villain Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) mantra for the past seven films, and despite its flaws has been an unyielding device for what has been a surprisingly strong story. Despite all the torture and gore, Saw always had a wonderfully intricate story at its center, delicately plotted over the course of these films and containing twists that have an impact on the story's development. At the heart of this development has been Jigsaw himself, who went from being a body laying on a bathroom floor in the original Saw, to a multilayered character with increasingly deep motivations. Even after the character's death in Saw III, he has been kept alive through flashbacks, videotapes and his ever-increasing band of apprentices. At the end of the last film, the surprisingly strong Saw VI, Jigsaw's last remaining apprentice, former detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandaylor) was seen tearing off half his face in order to bust his way out of the reverse-bear trap planted on him by Jigsaw's ex, Jill Tuck (Betsy Russel).

This exciting ending built up anticipation for an upcoming power struggle between Hoffman and Tuck. But unfortunately this struggle, while one of the highlights of Saw 3D, was downplayed in favor of meaningless filler with a self-help guru named Bobby Dagen, (Sean Patrick Flannery) a self-proclaimed Jigsaw survivor who organizes a support group for fellow survivors.

As Dagen is once again lured into a game, the majority of the film's runtime is taken up by him walking through a series of traps in which he must rescue victims with whom he is associated. This scenario proves a huge problem for the film, as it adds very little to the overall plot and provides nothing other than filler to pad out the story. It doesn't help that we already saw a version of this idea in Saw VI, except its execution was far more interesting. Here the traps are meaningless, serving merely to boost the film's 3-D engine, providing fodder for those waiting to see body parts launched from the screen. However the emphasis on the 3-D portion of the film proves a major detractor, as the traps' outcomes become increasingly predictable, and whatever former ingenuity they contained is dropped in the favor of spreading as much blood as possible.

Bobby Dagen's support group also acts as a mean of reintroducing Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes), the main character of the original film, and a character whose ultimate fate has been a topic of heated fan debate until now. I myself have been an avid Dr. Gordon fan since the beginning and eagerly anticipated his return. Sadly, his presence in this film is used more as a way to appease the fans than anything else, and his actual impact on the film's events is very minimal. He appears only in a few brief scenes-including the film's excellent opening-but afterwards remains almost entirely absent until the ending. His ultimate impact, however, does provide a certain amount of satisfaction that should leave fans pleased. Nevertheless, I find the character's motivations to be somewhat questionable. Those who remember Dr. Gordon in the first film will be hard-pressed to identify with his portrayal here.

The aforementioned war between Hoffman and Tuck, meanwhile, fares better than the other half of the story but still plays out very differently than I imagined. Rather than a war of wills between the two, it turns into a manhunt, with Tuck fearing for her life and Hoffman relentlessly pursuing her. Seeking protection from Hoffman, Tuck turns to police Detective Gibson (Chad Donella), who she believes is the only person who can protect her.

This is another weak aspect of Saw 3D, with Gibson proving the least interesting of all the film series' various detectives. Gibson's backstory and former association with Hoffman is also a bit of a stretch, with no real bearing on the plot, seeming to be only an excuse to extend the film's runtime. However, this story's conclusion is handled well, with Hoffman slaughtering an entire police station to get to Tuck, and their ultimate confrontation is quite satisfying.

Despite some great moments, Saw 3D fails to deliver. It's definitely one of the weaker installments of the series, and screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, who handled the growing franchise so well in the past, seem to have forgotten how to balance the traps and gore with a good story and appealing characters. The film's directing by Kevin Greutert is serviceable, though fairly unimaginative. Greutert's style, vivid and frenetic in Saw VI, is rather muted here, with dull color tones and fairly straightforward camera usage. The best sequence from a directorial standpoint is the first trap sequence, which takes place outside in front of a massive crowd. This idea is a huge departure from the series' usually well-contained traps. By placing victims into a public arena, Jigsaw's influence suddenly seems more widespread and significant. This idea isn't followed up on, and the rest of the film's traps are returned to the usual underground rooms and tunnels.

The acting is pretty good overall. Bell appears for what amounts to little more than a cameo, but during his few scenes, he brings to the table the usual shimmering menace and reserved bravado that makes Jigsaw such an intriguing character. Mandylor does a good job as the sadistic and brutish Hoffman. Despite my early uncertainties of Mandylor's ability to portray a worthy successor to Jigsaw, over the course of the past few films, he's managed to prove himself as a ruthless villain and a far greater physical presence than Jigsaw ever was. Russell doesn't have much to do this time other than cower or scream, but her performance is still effective. Flannery is rather unremarkable as Dagen, who proves to be an entirely unnecessarily character, and Donella is laughably bad as the equally uninteresting Detective Gibson. Elwes, meanwhile, does a good job in his few scenes as the bitter and resentful Dr. Gordon. It's a performance very different from his portrayal of the earnest doctor fighting to save his family (who aren't even mentioned this time out) in the original Saw, and it will leave many fans scratching their heads. Nevertheless Elwes manages to just barely justify this offbeat new Gordon.

Saw 3D suffers from subpar writing and directing, and an over reliance on traps that should have served as the background. It didn't help that Jigsaw is barely featured in the film. I suppose this was inevitable, considering the character has been dead since Saw III, but Bell's great performance was missed here. It's uncertain at this point whether the film series will return for an eighth installment. Despite the film's vicious promotion as the final installment, money talks, and if Saw 3D does well, I wouldn't be surprised if more films come along. Judging from Saw 3D's ending, another movie could prove interesting, but only if writers Dunstan and Melton can recapture the magic found in some of their earlier writing. If that is possible, then hopefully this broken trap can be fixed.