From the Vaults: Seven Pounds Blu Ray Review

Seeing Woody Harrelson in Zombieland for some reason reminded me of his supporting role in Will Smith’s 7 Pounds, so it seemed like a good time to dust my Switchplanet review from about a year ago off for a Saturday edition of From the Vault.

IRS auditor Ben Thomas (Will Smith) is an extremely reclusive man who is on a mission. Although initially viewers are not let in on the reason, it is obvious that he is targeting a few individuals with very specific traits and profiles. These people include Ezra Turner (Woody Harrelson,) a blind customer service representative at a meat packing plant and Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson,) a woman with a faulty heart who runs a small printing business from her garage.

Much like The Usual Suspects or The Sixth Sense, Seven Pounds is a really hard movie to review without giving away the storyline. I went into this release having no idea what the plot was and feel that is the best approach. Therefore the majority of this review will focus on the acting, technical aspects and special features rather than the storyline itself. I will say that this film is not a one twist pony (new Bulin-ism!) Most will catch on to Ben’s plan early on and will even get a few of the smaller twists along the way. By the end of the movie however, there are some plot paths and monkey wrenches that will keep everyone guessing and ultimately wondering how everything will play out. The one downfall to these films for me, however, is that once the plot is revealed, you lose the rewatchability factor as there is no suspense on the second viewing.

Will Smith has proven that he can carry a film when necessary in the past but this time around, he does not need to because of his supporting cast. Rosario Dawson is great as the independant, vegitarian printer who falls for the enigmatic Thomas. Woody Harrelson is very underused as Ezra but does manage to nail a few scenes and creates a good natured, sympathetic character, who’s connection to Ben Thomas is unknown throughout the majority of the film. Back to Smith, this time around Will takes on a bit of a different role, as a guarded individual, almost an anti-hero of sorts. We have all gotten accustomed to seeing him as a very likeable guy, often who has been dealt a bad hand in life, who wears his heart on his sleeve so to speak and eventually comes out on top. This time around Smith has a lot more mystery and a bit of a dark side, both traits that he only skimmed in Hancock. Next up we need to see Will Smith as a full on villian that audiences will hate…

Presented in 2.40:1 widescreen ratio with 1080p definition, Seven Pounds has a few consistancy issues with the transfer. Although the image is clean and crisp save for a few instances with a bit more grain than one would expect from a new release, the black levels waiver a bit in depth but not enough to detract from the film. The attention to detail is quite good and the scenes with the neon lit jellyfish providing the best scene from an artistic standpoint.

The English 5.1 TrueHD Audio is more than adequate for this dialogue driven front speaker-centric film. There are a few instances of ambiance noise on the other channels, noticeably during the nighttime dinner scene but for the most part, these channels get the night off. The soundtrack never overpowers the dialogue and is balanced quite nicely.

First up on the Special Features list is a commentary track from Gabriele Muccino. Unfortunately this is not a great track. The monalogue is uneven with several gaps during the film and the material covered is rather unexciting and slow. I do not blame the director for this as English is not his native language but regardless, it is a hard track to sit through. Much more interesting is Creating the Perfect Ensemble. It is a look at the casting director’s part in the movie and how they made their choices. The Seven Views on Seven Pounds featurette features 7 different members of the production crew discussing the film and what it meant to them as well as what attracted them to the project. The deleted scenes are all without substance and add no value to the film. Finally are a pair of interesting featurettes that provide some background information on some of the material in the film. First up is Emily’s Passion. This piece provides an overview on the history of the printing press and is suprisingly interesting. The second featurette is The Box Jellyfish. This one focuses on this beautiful creature and the effects of it’s sting. The last two are both interesting choices for this presentation but it was refreshing to see some new and original supplimental materials included so kudos to Sony.

Once again, Will Smith proves his huge acting range as he plays tortured soul Ben Thomas perfectly. This is one of those films that is not really for everyone but this somewhat melodramatic story is very well acted and well paced as it slowly reveals Ben’s purpose and motivation over the course of the film. This journey of self redemption is definately original and well worth a rental.

Special Features:

Commentary Track featuring Director Gabriele Muccino
Seven Views on Seven Pounds Documentary (31 minutes)
Creating the Perfect Ensemble Featurette (13 minutes)
The Box Jellyfish: World’s Deadliest Costar Featurette (5 minutes)
Emily’s Passion: The Art of the Printing Press Featurette (8 minutes)
Deleted Scenes (4 minutes)
Digital Copy of the movie
BD-Live

Seven Pounds on Blu Ray is available now, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.