Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Will Smith stars as Ben Thomas, a man at a crossroads searching for a way to redeem his heavy conscience. He discovers he has the power to change the circumstances of seven strangers who deserve a second chance. But when one of them captures his heart, he must decide if he should reveal his secret - even if it means giving up on his plan.

The trailers did a great job of not giving away too much on this one before it hits screens. Most trailers nowadays pretty much play like Cliff Notes and give away just about the whole plot in less than a minute. Like Happiness before it, Seven Pounds is a more emotional role for Smith and taps into his dramatic side. The story is very touching though not quite as effecting as I was expecting given some of the talk I’d heard about it. Didn’t matter though, this is still powerful stuff and Smith gives a great performance yet again.

Sony delivers a breathtaking transfer here with some of the best fine detail I’ve seen as of late. The image is wonderfully dimensional and although the black levels are slightly raised at times, depth is never an issue. The image has a wonderfully natural color palette with excellent color saturation and deep hues. This is one of the sharpest transfers I’ve seen lately and Sony continues to push the envelope when it comes to outstanding Blu-ray transfers.

The Dolby TrueHD mix is very moody and the score does a sensational job with the tone of the film and drawing you in. The mix is airy and the spatial design is engaging enough without being distracting or gimmicky. Surrounds add a nice touch of ambiance with some occasional directional cues and the imaging in the main soundstage is dead on. Dialogue always sounds natural in timbre and tone. A wonderful presentation overall.

Extras include several different takes on the film’s themes and stories along with some inside look at the production and cast. You get interviews with the cast plus a feature commentary with the director. Some deleted scenes and a digital copy of the film wrapped up the package. Also, like every Sony release, this one is BD-Live enabled.

Smith shows that he doesn’t have to be the action star to drive a great film. Seven Pounds is a very involving drama with real heart and Sony has done a tremendous job with the presentation. Recommended.