I’ve said it before. I’m a fan of Will Smith. Always have been, with two notable exceptions, “Six Degrees of Separation” and his later “Hancock” movies. That being said, I can only summarize his latest, “Seven Pounds” in one inextricably speechless word…

WOW…

The premise of the movie isn’t exactly earth shattering for those of you who’ve seen the previews, but to say that you “figured it out” before the last 45 minutes or so would be surprised.

In a nutshell, “Ben” is an IRS-agent on a mission. Whether to pay his penance of to cure his soul, we don’t know, but for the first 2/3 of the movie, what you see seems a bit disjointed but is a very intriguing overview following Ben anonymously helping what he discovers to be good people where he sees himself as “less than ordinary”.

As the story unfolds, you get more and more of the “why”, but never in enough detail to truly understand what’s going on until the very end of the movie.

Frankly, I haven’t seen a better, or a more emotional movie in any time frame I can think of. This movie is amazing. It’s emotionally intense, and it proves once and for all that Will Smith (and Rosario Dawson) has an almost limitless gift for acting that’s just now being scratched at the surface.

If Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, and Barry Pepper don’t walk away with Oscars, there simply is NO credibility to the Academy Awards.

I’m going to go for 5 out of 5 stars here, and it moves to the top of my “Buy it Now” list when out on Blu-Ray.