a diffuse and disjointed effort
3 Comments
12/28/08
Seven Pounds (2008)
27
%
Tomatometer
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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
41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Operates on an emotional level so crude that the sacrificial act at its heart appears not only kitschy, but also repellent%u2014not to mention icky.
12/28/08
Smith is a good actor, but he's lost it here. The film can be nauseating in its overbearing use of unbridled sentiment.
12/27/08
Para Ben Thomas é mais importante respeitar um tolo jogo dramático do que realmente ajudar o próximo. E, para Will Smith, ganhar uma indicação ao Oscar e se pintar como um Cristo moderno é motivação suficiente para jogar sua reputação no triturador.
12/25/08
Will Smith has played an alcoholic superhero, a mystical caddie and a fighter pilot on a mission to save the planet from aliens, but Ben Thomas might just be the most unbelievable role of them all.
12/24/08
The film, while slow moving, is worth the wait for the emotional payoff.
12/24/08
Smith and Dawson both look like death, so watching their romance-on-life-support is painfully dreary and tragically unsexy
12/23/08
Will Smith gives the best performance of his career in a movie that pounds on your heart.
12/23/08
Manages the not inconsiderable feat of being both painfully predictable and preposterous to the point of being demented.
12/23/08
Only the most morbidly inattentive viewer could possibly fail to figure out virtually every twist in the story from details supplied in the first five minutes.
12/22/08
I think it’s just kind of average but Rosario Dawson is great and worthy of some type of recognition throughout this award show season.
12/22/08
That big twist at the end... if you go back and analyze it -- I’m not sure it holds up, but I don’t think it really matters all that much.
12/22/08
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
It's a movie about death and taxes (yes, really), a phony baloney tearjerker, one of those "noble" dramas that movie stars love filled with characters heavy with the weight of regret.
12/21/08
Scrooge is Will Smith's 21st century workaholic with text messaging addiction issues. Suicide by jellyfish, don't ask. Paging Dr. Kevorkian.
12/21/08
Surprisingly superficial message movie laden with schmaltz and mood muzak which adds up to little more than a feature-length public service announcement on the dangers of text-messaging while driving.
12/21/08
With their latest collaboration, it seems as if [Smith and Muccino] were engaged in the pursuit of crappyness.
12/21/08
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 pacing of the film is painfully slow that by the time one gets to the payoff at the end and understands what's going on, you may be fighting to remember what happened during the film if you stayed awake for it.
12/21/08
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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