7 Pounds


Last night I wanted to go see a movie. I wanted to see Twilight. Why? I have no idea. But everyone seems to think that this movie is the best thing since sliced bread. But, I have ignored the masses until last night. I was going to give in and go see what this Edward character was all about.

At about 9:00 I started chatting with my friend Jordan and I asked him if he wanted to go see a movie with me. He asked which one, and I said, “7 Pounds”. He said he really wanted to see that and we agreed to meet at 10:00 in the lobby. So yeah, I did not go see Twilight. No worries, I am not as upset as you might think I would be.

So we go to see this new movie with Will Smith. I was excited because I had heard very little about it and had only seen the preview once. And the way that the preview was set up was making me think that he was playing God in the film. He is effecting people’s lives somehow. The preview did zero justice to the actual film itself.

Will Smith provided yet another incredible award winning performance here. After the film I told Jordan that there is no one that would be able to play that part better than he did. Every single film that Smith does he finds a way to make you love him. You find a way to hate him. He has an incredible on screen image and I just love everything he does. (I did not like the story line in I Am Legend, but his acting was beyond incredible.)

(I used incredible a lot here, didn’t I? Maybe that is my word of the month.) The film, and I will not ruin anything for you in case you want to go see it, is insanely slow. You start the first half of the film confused and wondering what is going on with the characters and the storyline. You get maybe an hour into the film before things start to make sense. But once they do you start to learn a ton about the characters and the reasons behind the plot.

By the time the movie hits its last few moments you are in tears (or at least I was) at how his acting compared to the plot meets in the middle. And that middle is gorgeous. Yeah, I cried, and I am alright with it. It takes a lot out of a story to make me feel compassion. To make me feel angst. To make me feel hurt for the characters. And I am not sure who wrote this but they might have written the most under rated film of the year.

Do not go to this movie expecting action. Do not go in expecting a happy ending or a love story that will make your heart melt. Go in expecting smart writing, creative camera angles, and a sense of pure hatred mixed with understanding and sensibility.

Very well done Mr. Smith. You have done it again.