A deliberately muddled bit of inspirational pap.
Comment
12/18/08
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
141 - 160 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Its decision to portray behavior that is at best morally compromised as an idealized sacrifice is a poor choice as an ethical matter and as a narrative matter.
12/18/08
Will Smith wants an Oscar. That much we understand. But if he thinks he can get one by playing a tragic character in very mediocre-to-bad movies, he's likely mistaken.
12/18/08
a razor blade wrapped inside a teddy bear.
12/18/08
Will Smith stars with aliens and zombies and superheros, yet this is his first film that's wholly unbelievable.
12/18/08
It's one of the clearest portrayals of a character's doubt, and ultimate resolution, I've seen in a good long while.
12/18/08
Top CriticSeven Pounds is preposterous.
12/18/08
You know how people who go out of their way to seem mysterious or interesting are really just annoying? Turns out that applies to fictional people, too.
12/18/08
[M]ixes the triteness up in much the same way that a small child hides the fact that it hasn't eaten its peas by shoving them around the plate and then under the mashed potatoes...
12/18/08
The decision to score the final scene to a children's chorus singing Herman's Hermits' "Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good" is ill-considered. Samply lyric: 'I walked her home and she held my hand/I knew it wouldn't be just a one-night stand'.
12/18/08
[Smith] gets my thanks for embarking on projects, however flawed, that take emotional risks.
12/18/08
Seven Pounds is a clever one, all right, but it might actually be too clever for its own good.
12/18/08
While it doesn't break any new ground or provide any revelations, Seven Pounds is unabashedly emotional and cautiously hopeful. It's the feel-good movie for these feel-bad times.
12/18/08
Top CriticPounds plays dirty, selecting a path of confusion to unfurl its ache, resulting in a near absence of psychological or emotional connection the movie is absolutely desperate to conjure.
12/18/08
An unintentionally ludicrous drama of repentance as an extreme sport.
12/18/08
I am fascinated by films that observe a character who is behaving precisely, with no apparent motivation. A good actor brings such a role into focus, as Will Smith does in the enigmatically titled Seven Pounds.
12/18/08
Top CriticThe only person you'll want to cry for is yourself, for having been fooled into sitting through the whole thing.
12/18/08
But even without the head-shaker ending, the movie would have been a failure due to Smith's lackadaisical performance.
12/18/08
It should've been about weightlifting. Or British currency. Anything but this.
12/18/08
Nothing can save a movie when the script is this bad...
12/18/08
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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