He says he’s from the IRS every time Ben (Will Smith) knocks on a stranger’s door, leaving us as confused as the people opening it. We’re not sure if Ben is a good guy, a bad guy, what he’s up to, or why, and it’s not until the end of a sad and slow movie that we learn the ‘secret’ he’s carrying . Unfortunately it comes two hours later at about the same time we also realize that we just don’t care anymore. It seems “Big Will” lost us someplace in the first hour. How can an audience endure one hundred and twenty minutes of a movie without knowing who to cling to and why? Without us having the knowledge – the superior position over the other characters required for us to become involved in the plot, we’re left unsure of what we’re supposed to be feeling, and who are we supposed to be rooting for? We need a hero but we aren’t sure we can trust Will. Almost impossible to review without revealing the big plot with an even bigger hole in it, “Seven Pounds” feels more like a lead weight around your ankle at the bottom of the ocean. On second thought, that might be a more entertaining experience. There is a touching moment in the final minutes that is unfortunately as late in its arrival as the movie’s plot. That said, the lovely and very well performed role of Emily by Rosario Dawson shouldn’t go unnoticed. One Tiara
