Seven Pounds

Will Smith usually makes an entertaining movie. Even his more cloying ventures, like The Pursuit of Happyness, are buoyed by the cocky quality of his presence. Smith is most successful when he is surmounting insurmountable odds, be they aliens, rage-plagues or the stockbrokers' exams, because it is satisfying to see his confidence tested and assured. Which is to say that Seven Pounds is disappointing and flat because Will Smith cannot shed his considerable magnetism to play a broken man convincingly and, therefore, his quest to find people "deserving" of, literally, a piece of himself comes off as obnoxious. Enjoyment can be found in Rosario Dawson's luminous performance and talent at making clunky dialogue sound light and genuine.