Plot: What’s it about?
Will Smith is one of my favorite actors working today. I have to admit that I love the guy. I’ve been a fan of his since his TV days on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” which I used to watch back in college. Since then Smith has gone onto a very successful film career and while most of his movies are of the science-fiction/action-adventure genre, he has a few pretty good dramas under his belt. He’s even been nominated for a couple of Academy Awards. Not bad for a former rapper. In 2006, Smith teamed up with director Gabriele Muccino and the two made “The Pursuit of Happyness” in which Smith and real-life son played a hard-working man trying to find a break. The role garnered him his second Oscar nomination. There’s an old saying that goes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This time around, Smith has reunited with Muccino and the result is “Seven Pounds”. Is it lightning in a bottle or was it just a one-hit wonder?
Smith plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent who evidently has the freedom and authority to do pretty much whatever he pleases. We don’t really get the plot spelled out for us until much later in the film. Thomas seems to have his own agenda and his days consist of yelling at telemarketers and visiting sick patients in the hospital to tell them they’re being audited. Ben Thomas is either the nicest guy in the world or perhaps the cruelest. We learn a bit about Ben’s past through a series of brief flashbacks and from this we can ascertain that his fianc?e was killed in a car accident. Ben lives in a beach house of some sort, though he checks into a hotel for a few weeks. Oh and he has an extremely deadly box jellyfish as a pet. Ben seems to reach out to Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) more than the others. Maybe it’s because she’s attractive? Emily has a heart condition that will kill her unless she gets a transplant. Can Ben help her? What’s the story with Ben’s brother (Michael Ealy) who keeps calling him? What’s the story with Ben’s long-time friend (Barry Pepper)?
“Seven Pounds” is a movie that’s bound to polarize audiences because, well, most audiences like their movies spelled out for them so they don’t have to think. At first I wasn’t really too impressed with “Seven Pounds” but as the movie progressed, I became more and more enamored with it. I think the prose-like way of telling a story is unique and it allows the audience to put together the pieces of the puzzle. I certainly won’t give away the ending, but I will say that the movie has a rather unique way of intertwining a few of these stories. Will Smith still has a very long and bright career ahead of him and I’m glad a star like this is willing to take roles like this. Yes, odds are we’ll see him in more action-adventure films because that’s what he’s best at; but if you’ve any doubt that Will Smith can act, check out “Seven Pounds.”
Video: How does it look?
“Seven Pounds” comes to Blu-ray in a very nice-looking 2.40:1 AVC HD transfer. The film has a very natural look and feel to it and the Northern California coastline has never looked better than it does in HD. Fleshtones seem a bit on the warm side, though the detail is razor sharp. Quite simply, this is what we’ve come to expect from a day and date release from Sony and though a few of the outdoor scenes seemed a bit on the soft side, I was generally impressed. This is a good transfer and certainly one that fans will enjoy.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby TrueHD track is about as standard as they come. I really can’t remember if there was any great example of surround sound, but I’ll say that I was so engrossed in the film it probably wouldn’t have mattered. Dialogue was strong and had no hint of distortion. There were a few scenes that stood out as better than the rest, but to be honest this is a very straight-forward track. Sony consistently delivers good Dolby TrueHD tracks and this is no exception.
Supplements: What are the extras?
“Seven Pounds” comes to us with a fairly routine sampling of supplements. We start off with a audio commentary by director Gabriele Muccino as he tells of the challenge of making the film, the pleasure of working with Will Smith and some technical details of the shoot. It’s an average track and I suggest only a listen if you’re really into the film. We get a variety of featurettes, seven actually, that tell the different viewpoints on the film. Quite clever. There’s two rather odd featurettes dealing with the box jellyfish and we get a tour of the national printing press museum from some guy who looks like he needs to get out of there and experience life a bit. Four deleted scenes are shown and we get a digital copy of the movie on the second disc.
