Neither literal poetry nor the reliable charm of Will Smith can save his character from the folly of screenwriter Grant Nieporte’s deeply flawed premise.
1 Comment
01/08/09
Seven Pounds (2008)
27
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:172
Fresh:47
Rotten:125
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: Grim and morose, Seven Pounds is also undone by an illogical plot.
Australian Rating: TBC
Genre: Dramas
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jan 8, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $69,951,824
Synopsis: Academy Award® nominee Will Smith reunites with the directors and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness for the emotional drama Seven Pounds. In the film, Smith plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent with... [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Barry Pepper
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Reviews for Seven Pounds
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticThe film's most abiding mystery lies in the question of why it ever got made.
01/08/09
Top CriticThere is indeed a secret, but it is not overly challenging to work out what's going on in this annoying film.
01/09/09
Top CriticMorality has never seemed as arduous as in this morbidly drawn, intense drama filled with questions and pretension - even the charismatic Smith cannot save this absurd tale
12/22/08
Top CriticEven by the standards of gotcha flicks, Seven Pounds seems especially somnolent and pretentious.
01/08/09
Top CriticAlthough the story wobbles at times, Seven Pounds stays the course thanks to Muccino's skilled direction.
01/08/09
Top CriticIt's the kind of premise that a writer will lovingly nurture and probe, but it fails the truth test. As a love story it's unsatisfactory and as a redemption story it's slightly ridiculous
12/22/08
Top CriticIt is a complex movie, but also an absorbing and moving one - and in truth Will Smith does bring an extra dose of class that helps it succeed.
01/16/09
To say that Seven Pounds is an odd film is an understatement--it's often downright bizarre. What's even crazier is that the damned thing kinda sorta works
12/20/08
Seven Pounds compounds the schmaltz in a tale of goody-goody benefaction and glutinous redemption, whose plot the distributors mercifully injunct us from revealing.
01/16/09
Melancholy Will Smith film about extreme selflessness.
12/19/08
If you're in the market for a quality tearjerker, my advice is to stop reading this review now, avoid the film's revealing trailers and go see it with as blank a slate as possible.
12/19/08
The final act leaves a melodramatic and manipulative residue that no amount of tears can wash away.
12/22/08
If there were a way to do a secular passion play, this would be it.
12/22/08
I wanted to be left bawling like a little baby, this story has that potential. But when Ben gets distracted with Emily, so does the entire film. We almost forget Ben is on a focused (albeit depressed) journey.
12/19/08
Put your faith in Will Smith and by his sacrifice ye will be reborn.
12/19/08
The only person you'll want to cry for is yourself, for having been fooled into sitting through the whole thing.
12/18/08
On an emotional level, one could decree that the movie is satisfying. On an intellectual level, it's disappointingly shallow.
12/19/08
As the intricate plotting slowly gives way to the deeply felt, expertly played romance between Ben and Emily, the movie finds its heart.
12/21/08
The film closes on a meeting between two characters that’s now wayyyy high on my list of weirdest moments in cinema. It is, I think, supposed to be touching.
12/19/08
Latest News for Seven Pounds
January 16, 2009:
UK Critics Consensus: The Wrestler Pile-drives The Critics, But Don’t Waste any £s on Seven Pounds
With critical success for Slumdog Millionaire last week (94%), we have more award-friendly fare in the UK cinemas this Friday in Darren Aronofsky's spandex-tastic The Wrestler.... More...
December 28, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Marley Takes #1, The Spirit Tanks
This weekend people were in the mood for movies over Christmas weekend as multiplexes were jam-packed with customers that powered four different new releases to more than $30M... More...
December 22, 2008:
Will Smith as widower wracked with guilt. 
More...
December 21, 2008:
Smith, in his typical impressive pressure cooker character fashion, is a nervous wreck suicidal IRS agent who raises pet jellyfish, and seems to enjoy harassing when not stalking his clients. Paging Dr. Kevorkian.
More...
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