Shawn's Seven Pounds Review

2008 Movie #143 - Seven Pounds

What a bizarre movie to release around the holidays. I can imagine a lot of families deciding to go out together and see the new Will Smith movie, and getting quite a surprise. This is overall a pretty dark and bleak movie. I remember when I first saw the trailer I thought maybe Will Smith was an angel or something who was helping people. Not so much. Dark overtones aside, it’s still a pretty good movie.

This seems like another Oscar grab on Will Smith’s part but there is no doubt that he is good in this movie. I like Will Smith though, so I can’t criticize him too much for this blatant attempt at his Oscar. I think maybe one day he will get one, he’s a hell of an actor. I just don’t think this is the movie that is going to do it for him.

This movie has been getting just raped by most of the critics and I think most of that is undeserved. I’ve even heard a couple of critics call it one of the worst movies of the year. Are you serious? Did you only see this and two other movies? I’m getting ready to do my list of the worst movies of the year and this movie isn’t going to anywhere close to being on it. It won’t be on the top 10 best either, just somewhere in between

The way the plot unfolds seems to be something that has really divided the audience. Instead of a natural progression, the plot only gives you a little bit of information at a time. The whole movie is sort of like a puzzle, where you’re given a few pieces of time and you have to put everything together. A lot of people seemed to hate this element of the movie but I very much enjoyed it. It kept things interesting for me, especially during a relatively slow middle section of the movie.

This brings me to my next point, the pace of the movie. It can be a little boring at times. As I said there is a huge middle section that I started to lose interest. I would say the opening and closing sections of the movie are definitely the highlights, with the middle hour being ok, but a little on the slow side.

The acting is good with Will Smith turning in a great lead performance. Certainly a huge step up from Hancock that’s for god damn sure. Rosario Dawson is also great in her role. Those 2 are the main characters, with a few others (such as Woody Harrelson) hardly having any screentime at all. They do well with what they are given however.

I did like this movie and think it deserves better reviews than what it has been getting. It’s still a strange choice for a holiday release, but check this one out. It’s a little on the slow side, but overall a good watch with an enjoyable story presentation.

***/5