Seven PoundsRated PG-13
Running time: 1 hr 58 mins
Cast:
Will Smith
Rosario Dawson
Woody Harrelson
Barry Pepper
Critical Consensus:
** out of *****
(28% Fresh Rating!)
Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:
*1/2 out of *****
The Premise:
An IRS agent with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
MY REVIEW
I don't want to lie or be tricky in my review of this film. I simply did not get or really even care for 'Seven Pounds'. This is one of those movies where the critics really hate it but fans really love it. I don't like to call myself a critic, I like to think I'm more open minded of a film reviewer. But I have to say...I agree with the critics on this movie. It is way to grim but not all that emotional. This really is a fake you out tearjerker that doesn't really even make you cry. I didn't cry. I didn't even get teary eyed or choked up. This movie had zero emotional pull. It did not tug on the strings of my heart. It was weak and by the end all I thought was, "Yeah, OK so what?".
This is strange for me to say, but this movie suffered from not revealing to much in the preview. This has to be one of the most mysterious films of the past decade. I don't think anyone knew what on earth it was about going into the movie based of the trailers. Usually that's great, but here it really faltered from poor advertising. Because nothing about the story was shocking and you can almost see the whole thing coming. Everyone keeps saying there's a big "twist" in the end. Where??? You should have expected it to end the way it did from the very first scene. Yes at the beginning you could have logically thought it wouldn't really go that way, but when it does...how can you be shocked? They dropped obvious hints the ENTIRE movie. So I ask again, what was so "twisty" about this ending?? It should have been touching, but instead it was just blah.
The story was WAY to mysterious for WAY to long. I mean it goes well over an hour before you truly learn exactly why this man is doing what he's doing. The previews advertise that he is supposed to do something miraculous for seven strangers. The film only really focuses on one of them and the rest are mere after thoughts. And I'm confused as to how he even helped one or two of them. He's supposed to be this great man doing great things, but you don't really feel that. By the time it's revealed what he's doing, and honestly there really isn't that much explanation, it's really just disappointing. Was it just me, or was everyone able to predict where this movie was going? I thought the end was kind of a cop out actually.
For a movie that was meant to be very emotional, I had no connection with any of the characters. What's with movies these days focusing WAY to much on story and visuals and not on buttering up their characters through the story to get us as an audience to actually care for them? I didn't care about anyone in this movie, at least not really. Like I said I didn't even get teary eyed. This movie just grazed over it's glossy surface and never dug deep into the real spirit and nature of these characters. So why should we care about them?
Maybe I'm being to harsh here. There were some bright spots. It was filmed excellently and had some great musical scoring. Oscar nominee Will Smith (Ali, Pursuit of Happyness) was very good as expected. Yet not as powerful or as moving as he was in Pursuit of Happyness. His performance was a bit dry at times, but for the most part he was awesome. The brightest spot was Rosario Dawson (Rent, Sin City). I thought she was absolutely incredible throughout this film. I was very pleasantly surprised by her, because she's not one you think would deliver a performance of this caliber. It is kind of a shame this movie is the way it is, or else I think Dawson might have garnered some award attention. Everyone else in the movie seemed to be extended cameos. Even Rosario Dawson didn't seem like a leading lady.
I really hate to say I disliked a Will Smith movie, he is one of my very favorite actors working today. I guess even the greats can't be perfect every time right? Oh well, I know he will step it up next time. But today, Smith severely swung and missed on his choice and movies. I really just didn't care for this film. Yikes, maybe I am becoming a snobby critic! That doesn't mean you shouldn't go see this movie, readers. You may very much like it, a lot of regular audiences genuinely like the film. Just wasn't for me personally.
This is strange for me to say, but this movie suffered from not revealing to much in the preview. This has to be one of the most mysterious films of the past decade. I don't think anyone knew what on earth it was about going into the movie based of the trailers. Usually that's great, but here it really faltered from poor advertising. Because nothing about the story was shocking and you can almost see the whole thing coming. Everyone keeps saying there's a big "twist" in the end. Where??? You should have expected it to end the way it did from the very first scene. Yes at the beginning you could have logically thought it wouldn't really go that way, but when it does...how can you be shocked? They dropped obvious hints the ENTIRE movie. So I ask again, what was so "twisty" about this ending?? It should have been touching, but instead it was just blah.
The story was WAY to mysterious for WAY to long. I mean it goes well over an hour before you truly learn exactly why this man is doing what he's doing. The previews advertise that he is supposed to do something miraculous for seven strangers. The film only really focuses on one of them and the rest are mere after thoughts. And I'm confused as to how he even helped one or two of them. He's supposed to be this great man doing great things, but you don't really feel that. By the time it's revealed what he's doing, and honestly there really isn't that much explanation, it's really just disappointing. Was it just me, or was everyone able to predict where this movie was going? I thought the end was kind of a cop out actually.
For a movie that was meant to be very emotional, I had no connection with any of the characters. What's with movies these days focusing WAY to much on story and visuals and not on buttering up their characters through the story to get us as an audience to actually care for them? I didn't care about anyone in this movie, at least not really. Like I said I didn't even get teary eyed. This movie just grazed over it's glossy surface and never dug deep into the real spirit and nature of these characters. So why should we care about them?
Maybe I'm being to harsh here. There were some bright spots. It was filmed excellently and had some great musical scoring. Oscar nominee Will Smith (Ali, Pursuit of Happyness) was very good as expected. Yet not as powerful or as moving as he was in Pursuit of Happyness. His performance was a bit dry at times, but for the most part he was awesome. The brightest spot was Rosario Dawson (Rent, Sin City). I thought she was absolutely incredible throughout this film. I was very pleasantly surprised by her, because she's not one you think would deliver a performance of this caliber. It is kind of a shame this movie is the way it is, or else I think Dawson might have garnered some award attention. Everyone else in the movie seemed to be extended cameos. Even Rosario Dawson didn't seem like a leading lady.
I really hate to say I disliked a Will Smith movie, he is one of my very favorite actors working today. I guess even the greats can't be perfect every time right? Oh well, I know he will step it up next time. But today, Smith severely swung and missed on his choice and movies. I really just didn't care for this film. Yikes, maybe I am becoming a snobby critic! That doesn't mean you shouldn't go see this movie, readers. You may very much like it, a lot of regular audiences genuinely like the film. Just wasn't for me personally.
*This is the 174th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
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