Seven Pounds

The trailer to this movie looked intriguing and mysterious so I was looking forward to seeing it. I was surprised that it didn't do too well in the theaters. This is the sort of movie that you have to be careful about reviewing so you don't spoil the ending. If you haven't seen it yet you may want to wait before reading any further.

Seven Pounds had my attention from the start. Will Smith finishes up a swim in the ocean, goes into his ocean side home and makes a phone call to a blind telemarketer and proceeds to taunt and belittle him. He then hangs up and is obviously distraught from what he has done. It peaked my curiosity and I wanted to get an explanation for what had just happened. The movie strings you along the whole time with bits and pieces of information that help to explain the storyline.

I wanted to enjoy this movie more, but I felt it was confusing and hard to follow since it splices flashbacks into the movie without letting you know they are flashbacks. (At least Wayne's World had the decency to make that clear.) Will Smith begins working as an IRS agent, later he's working for an aerospace company, then he's an IRS agent again. He has a beautiful wife he loves, but then he starts dating another lady. It takes a while to explain that his wife had died in an accident. Aside from the confusing flashbacks, I was also trying to figure out if there was any relationship between the 7 victims of the crash and those he chose to serve.

The acting was great by the entire cast, but I felt it was slow moving and overly weepy. There were several times when I wanted to fast forward the scenes because the pace was so slow, but I didn't dare to since my wife would be angry with me. If you like long, slow, emotional movies then you will probably enjoy Seven Pounds. I am a Will Smith fan, but I had a hard time understanding or relating to his character. My favorite part of the movie was when his girlfriend gave him a new outfit since I couldn't stand seeing him in the same suit he wears for most of the movie. I admit I was tired while watching this and that didn't help any so to be fair I am giving it 6.9 out of 10 stars.