Seven Pounds Review
Beware of spoilers
It's no secret that I'm a fan of Will Smith movies--I like his action movies and I personally think he's a really good dramatic actor. This past weekend was the premiere of Smith's third and final film for 2008 which started with I Am Legend, to Hancock and now Seven Pounds each film dramatically different in genre. Out of the lot, I Am Legend ends up being my favorite but that doesn't mean the other two films weren't good, it just means they weren't as good for various reasons. When it comes to Seven Pounds, it can easily be said that it's the most depressing movie of the year, at least for me. Most of you know that I like my big action movies, science fictions, the occasional biopic and drama that usually comes out during this time of year--the award season as it is. I've seen movies like Iron Man, The Dark Knight and Tropic Thunder; I've seen movies like Frost/Nixon, Milk and Vicky Christina Barcelona which are movies I haven't reviewed but will in less then two weeks for a yearly Quick Thoughts but none of those movies have been more depressive than Seven Pounds. Depressive doesn't mean a good movie however, but it does mean that Will Smith chimes in with another good performance, one I think is a credit to his profile.
I'm not going to explain or give a synopsis on Seven Pounds because the mystery revolving around the story is basically the entire point of the film--I realize that statement is completely vague and your probably thinking "isn't the story supposed to be the point of a movie" and you would be right but when or if you see Seven Pounds you'll completely understand what I mean. What I can say is that Will Smith plays a man who is extremely tortured emotionally because of a set of circumstances that got him to where we see him in the film. Seven Pounds stars Smith as Ben Thomas with Rosario Dawson playing Emily Posa; also starring with smaller supporting roles is Barry Pepper as Dan and Woody Harrelson as Ezra.
Likes:
- I usually enjoy Will Smith in his movies no matter if the particular film is good or bad, and the same can be said about this film. Smith really convinced me how fucked up (sorry, but it's the best way to explain) he was emotionally. We've all know miserable people in our lives, some of us are miserable but when you see what Ben goes through every day, seeing how tortured he is... our lives aren't that bad.
- Rosario Dawson may not be the most critically popular actress but because I don't care about that crap, I'll say that I really enjoyed seeing her in this reunion with Smith. You'll remember they co-starred in Men In Black II. Her character Emily has a terrible heart condition that could lead to heart failure. Dawson really made me feel for her because you don't know what could happen to her since her character is technically doomed. There is this one scene that I don't want to give it away but it looked really really painful, but it did start the romance between the two characters.
- It's an amazing story of self-sacrifice for several different ways shown in the film. I'd say 99.9% of the worlds population wouldn't sacrifice those things for anyone but when you see that .1% sacrifice the way Ben does it is amazing and in some cases can make you feel misty eyed. This depends on the kind of person you are.
Dislikes:
- Beating me over the head with drama isn't a good thing. I love good drama like other movie fan but beating me to a pulp with drama, drama, drama is just too much. Now I'm not saying it was too much emotionally to take, that wasn't it, it's just too much drama for any picture. Tone it down a little bit and let us enjoy some of the other things that make movies special. There's other things in movies that make movies dramatic, not just all this depressive trying-to-make-the-audience-cry stuff.
- Although, people will enjoy the ending for it's powerful moments, it's so cliche. For my part I saw what was ahead about half way in, give or take 10 minutes, forcing me to think about all the other times we've seen that kind of drama in movies. Nobody minds drama and powerful moments at the end of a movie but when you can see it coming for a couple of miles away, it becomes too cliche.
When it was all said and done I found myself thinking about the morality of the situation. In my eyes I found this film to be a huge moral dilemma and I couldn't imagine how anyone could react to the things that Ben has gone through. In that sense Seven Pounds stirred a bit of an emotion and thought, making this film overall enjoyable. It isn't by any means the best movie of the year or Will Smith's personal best but it is good enough to make me think about life and death for a few days. It is, however, a forgettable movie and I won't find myself thinking about it a couple of weeks from now, maybe less. Still, it has some enjoyable performances from Smith and Dawson but beats me to death with the drama getting me tired quickly. I wouldn't tell you to see it in the theaters and I wouldn't tell you to see this if your suicidal but it's something I suggest renting for a quiet evening with the girlfriend or boyfriend or in some strange cases both. On a scale of 1 to 10, Seven Pounds receives an honorable 6 out of 10.
-Phil
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First off, long time viewer, first time commentor.
Secondly I agree with what you said for the most part. The scenes felt real and Smith gave a great performance, but i didnt find the end to be cliche in the least, from a purely logical standpoint, he did what he thought would be best to help as many as he could, including himself, which ended up being the moral of the story…
how good are you to your fellow man.
Hi Keith! I’m glad you could join us here! Thanks for your comment.
About the end–you can’t tell me you didn’t see it coming from miles away; that’s what made it cliche, at least for me.
Ok. I feel like I am preaching to the choir but perhaps someone will spread the message, or I say the true message about this film. I can only hope and pray.
So I sound like I know alittle bit about the depth of this film allow me to back up, and tell you about me first. I myself, in the last 10 years have suffered the loss of both my parents and a man who would have been my father in law but he past away right before I married his daughter. However, I have been happily married for a year and a half now. Thanks. My point, I with the help of Jesus Christ have come to understand loss, gain, pain, happiness, how precious life is, and certainly unselfeshness. And I have read and heard alot of veiws on this movie, almost all good reviews and all commenting on Will’s performance and how deep the movie is. The movie was shot well and I agree that Mr. Smith gave an excellent performance as far as acting. But I am afraid it was too deep for people to see the underlining message that jumped out at me and was also appalling to me in at the same time. If you strip back the layers you will see too that this film glorifies suicide and not in a way that someone may think is honorable. For example, in life a soldier in the heat of battle my take a bullet for a friend to save the friend or another example (as I am sure plenty are aware here) how Christ died on the cross for our sins. Ben-Will’s character is not Jesus and certainly did not sacrifice his life in an honorable way or unselfishly.
Out of guilt and shame of a past mistake he sets his life up to help others by killing himself then donating his organs to help the people he decides is worthy. In my opinion, there is no heroic act here and no blessing of good. I am so afraid that this misguided story is going to encourage suicidal behavior of those already struggling with these thoughts. We need to open our eyes to the lies. Satan can and does come as a angel of light to deceive man.
I propose a question, What is the point of donating a physical heart to help someone live or give up your physical eyes to the blind to help them see our beautiful earth when in the end you leave a girl with a broken heart and people who miss seeing the truth?
it has always been a pleasure seeing will smith movies he he just amazing in all his movies he gets into the character so much so has he done in 7 pounds the way he has sorted out each problem of all the 7 eople related to each other its was a sight to see …….
I may not get into the depth of the movie as many of you, but from an entertainment aspect, I think the movie was excellent. There are so few actors today that I would pay $9 to see. Will Smith shows every emotion in every fiber of his body. The plot was very confusing in the first half hour. After that, I pretty much had it figured out, but was not disappointed one bit with the ending. I would see it over again.
Hey there!
I agree with Phil…totally saw that end comming right from the first half hour…and yeah,tooooo much drama…i got out thinking ‘ok, i so need a jim carrey right now’ =P
Anyway, just wanted to ask a question…got a bit confused about the seven ‘gifts’…
- Brother ben: lung
- Holly: liver
- Ezra: eyes
- Emily: heart
- Friend’s son: bone marrow
- Lady with violent boyfriend: house
And number seven would be……
Hey Vanessa,
He gave someone his kidney, I forgot who.
the review is good and the movie also must be good i still have to watch it and den only can i get into the details of itbut im sure its a must watch ..
i wanna know wat does 7 pounds actually mean ..???
7 Pounds?
7 Pounds of flesh? Offering the crash victims their revenge for his actions?
Can someone please explain to me why Ezra and Emily met up at the end?!
I didn’t understand that bit at all.
I am assuming the bit his mate had to do was arrange that piano thing for Ezra? Is that right, or was there something else?
I am also a bit confused about the bloke at the beginning in the care home (I am assuming he is one of the 7 he was helping?), because he found out he was horrible, so did he actually do anything for him??
Also, his brother was standing outside Emily’s house in the rain for AGES! I like the way Will Smith just didn’t go back out there, he was kissing, having sex, and talking, and waited for her to go to sleep, and his brother didn’t come knocking!!
Sorry, so many questions but I am a first timer on here! I hope someone can clear this up for me!
I actually liked the film, but do not like feeling confused! I felt so sorry and sad for Woody Harrelson! Will Smith was just horrible to him, and I think Woody was the best actor in it! lol
Hey Nicola,
The best way for me to answer that question is - cliche writing, and heavy handed story telling.
I feel like there was a deleted scene with his brother standing in the middle of the street. Didn’t he also say that he wasn’t going to wait there forever… well, he did.
I am completely new at this and hardly watch movies.
But watching this movie call me retarted but a lot of questions came to mind.
What was the point of the scene where the doctor doesn’t bathe the old lady.what was his gift going to be if he was worthy.
Why and ahow did he choose emily.
What’s the whole accident scene about…It seems as if he had a wife before but I didtnquite understand…lol
Why did ezra and emily meet.
And btw jelly fish aren’t really deadly….
Why is tim taking bens identity..
im sure that the movie is goin to be really good ……… i havent yet watched it so im waiting for it ….
its cuming on the 13th of feb ……….
the d day has come !!!!!!!!!!!!
I loved this movie and it made me cry buckets at the end. I highly recommend this film to anyone who has a soul.
I thought this movie was damn good - didn’t make me cry though ;p
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