Seven Pounds (2008)

After the success of THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS it was inevitable that Gabriele Muccino and Will Smith would team up for another big pouting. On this occasion it’s SEVEN POUNDS, the story of Ben Turner who is an IRS agent with a fateful secret. He sets out on in search off redemption and in hoping of change 7 strangers life but his plans are made complicated when he falls in love with Emily (Rosario Dawson), a woman with a heart condition.

To go into more detail on what SEVEN POUNDS is all about would only serve to spoil it, it’s one of those movies where the less you know before you see it, the better it will work. On the other hand if you do know next to nothing about it you may end up confused for a good portion of the movie. Indeed anyone involved with the movie kept their cards close to their chest and wouldn’t say much about it during interviews but once you’ve seen the movie it’s easy to see why. Without that element of mystery the movie really would be quite poor. For me not knowing much about it sat just above poor mark but still below average. I definitely expected much more from the man who brought the excellent THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS.

It’s good to see Will Smith tackling much bigger and darker roles like that in PURSUIT and I AM LEGEND instead of the safe roles we’ve seen him in time and time again but on this occasion even Smith himself failed to win this movie anymore appeal for me. It was also quite disappointing to see Woody Harrelson so under used – to cast such a well know face I would have definitely expected to have seen him in a bigger role.

I think those who actually enjoy SEVEN POUNDS, and I have no there will those who will, will be hard pushed to get the same sense of enjoyment a second time around as once you have seen it, the mystery is gone and really outwith that it doesn’t have much going for it.

The problem for me was the pacing, at times I thought it was far too slow and I have to admit I felt close to sleep on a number of occasions. I’m not asking for a fast paced action movie, just that it progressed perhaps a little quicker as to keep the viewer interested.

All in all a disappointing for Muccino’s second outing in Hollywood with Will Smith but you may find some enjoyment if you are a Will Smith fan or a fan of a romantic movie. Ultimately it’s one that will try to appeal to the heart instead of the head…

Date: 20/01/2009
Rating: 2.5/5
Copyright ©2008 Rough Cut Reviews.
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