The sad truth is that if you laid this movie out chronologically -- and maybe if you don't -- not a whole lot of it makes any sense.
Comment
12/19/08
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.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating]
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:16-01-2009
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
You'll have plenty of time for your mind to wander; feel free to spend some of it imagining what this imposing pair could do with the right material.
12/19/08
Seven Pounds is a difficult story, multilayered, spare and full of detail, thoughtfully told.
12/19/08
Dawson exudes common sense, and the pulse -- the film's and mine -- quickened when she was onscreen.
12/19/08
Muccino, who balanced humor and pathos so well in Happyness, goes too heavy on the melodrama this time, at the expense of practically any other emotional shadings.
12/19/08
I would tell you to go out and see it for yourself, but you might take that as a recommendation rather than a plea for corroboration. Did I really see what I thought I saw?
12/19/08
Top CriticWhen an actor reaches a summit of unparalleled global popularity, it is probably hard to resist the temptation to play God.
12/19/08
Top CriticPlease stay away from the plot line of this film and go into it with an open mind. You will be pleasantly and emotionally surprised.
12/19/08
Love or hate the film, Smith's performance in Seven Pounds is one of his best.
12/19/08
Equal parts bizarre and conventional, Seven Pounds is -- if not good -- an intriguing film.
12/19/08
Pound for pound, it's a hefty disappointment.
12/19/08
The film closes on a meeting between two characters that’s now wayyyy high on my list of weirdest moments in cinema. It is, I think, supposed to be touching.
12/19/08
It's probably safe to argue that never before has the spirit of giving been pushed any higher. How high? According to my altimeter, to that oxygen-deprived point where lachrymose meets laughable.
12/19/08
No comic relief, no bursts of spontaneity -- everything seems calculated and overthought, muddling the message.
12/19/08
Seven Pounds features the best performance by a jellyfish in a film this year. Really, the thing is mesmerizing.
12/19/08
[The] script is filled with false notes and other hollow sentiments.
12/19/08
Not all holiday cheer need come in broad comedic strokes to warm the multiplex throngs.
12/19/08
It's impossible to talk about the movie without revealing the least little thing about its secret. And the secret is so flimsy, absurd and obvious that, if we write about it at all, you could figure it out from almost the moment the movie starts.
12/19/08
Will Smith has fame, fortune, and a beautiful family, but that's not enough -- he wants you to know what a beneficent guy he is too.
12/19/08
Too often the movie's preposterous ideas of goodly sacrifice blur the line between altruism and self-importance.
12/19/08
Top CriticLatest 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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