Seven

Rating:
Summary: worst ending of a movie ever
Review: Although the actors are good actors - not in this movie. This movie doesn't work. It starts to have a plot and then rushes ahead to the ending which is simply horrible. We don't get to know the killer - he just gets the luxury of doing his thing. Really poorly directed. I'm not kidding about the way it ends.

Rating:
Summary: Both thrilling and intellectually challenging
Review: This is a review of the video version of Seven.

This movie stars Brad Pitt as a brash young detective partnered with Morgan Freeman's character, a cerebral, experienced detective, as they try to catch a serial killer who murders people according to themes derived from the seven deadly sins (gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy and wrath). What might have been merely a clever idea becomes not only a stylish and exciting thriller, but also a challenging work of philosophy.

I don't want to give anything away in this review. (Several other reviews here tell you which actor plays the serial killer. I didn't know when I saw it, and I thought it was a great surprise, so I won't mention his name.) But I would like to comment on some of the surprisingly deep things director David Fincher does in this movie.

The framework of the Seven Deadly Sins is more than just a throw-away. The people who are killed really are, by almost anybody's standards, unlikable people. This leads into the deeper question the movie raises about the value of human existence. Why is humanity worth fighting for? Morgan Freeman's character, a brilliant detective, is about to take early retirement precisely because he seems to have decided that, after years of fighting the good fight, the human race just isn't worth the effort.

He is challenged by his new partner. Brad Pitt's character has a seemingly indestructible passion for trying to rid the world of evil. Pitt's and Freeman's character's represent two sides of the human soul. Freeman is pure intellect. Pitt is all passion. (I don't know whether Fincher intended this, but the contrast between the two officers is like the contrast between the rational and the non-rational parts of the soul in Aristotle.)

The movie uses various visual devices to suggest the contrast. One shot shows Freeman and Pitt on opposite sides of a wall. We also see Freeman in his meticulous apartment, all by himself, but later see Pitt in the messy apartment he shares with his loving wife (played very nicely by Gwynneth Paltrow). According to Aristotle, the intellectual and passionate aspects of the soul must work in harmony for either to develop its full potential. In the movie, Pitt and Freeman gradually learn to work together, as is suggested by a scene near the end where they make pleasant banter while gearing up for what they hope will be the operation that closes the case.

Intellectual movies can be ponderous, but this one is not. Even if you couldn't care less about the philosophical underpinnings of the movie, you'll enjoy its quick pace and tightening sense of terror. There is a chase scene near the middle of the movie that will have you sweating, and the tension really ratchets up during the climax of the movie. You know something bad will happen, but you're not sure what it will be.

Well, that's not 100% true. One minor weakness of this movie is that, about 15 or 20 minutes from the end, I had a pretty good guess what kind of thing was going to happen. However, I also knew that one of the characters would have to make a key existential choice, and there was a lot of tension waiting to see what he would do.

So for both intellectual challenge and sheer fun, I recommend Seven.

Rating:
Summary: "Good, sharp, modern filmmaking."
Review: An excellent psychological, serial killer thriller, that's comparable to "The Silence of the Lambs". It's highly stylized, creepy, well-acted and well-scripted, but "Seven" is no "Silence", as the latter featured some of the most endearing characters and best performances of any movie of all time. But "Seven" still ranks as one of the best movies of the '90s. Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and Gwenyth Paltrow, in a rather thankless role, are all very good, but it's Kevin Spacey who really shines as the psychotic killer of the piece. This gruesome and disturbing piece of cinema is certainly one of the all-time great thrillers, and one fo the best movies in recent years. It dishes up plenty of grisly violence, action, and features an appropriatley dark, muddy, unsettling atmospehre. In a decade of big special effects, overblown storytelling, heavy marketing, and lots of dissapointments, "Seven" is a welcome piece of ingenious cinema, but it's definitely not old-fashioned storytelling, but just good, sharp, modern filmmaking of the highest order.

Rating:
Summary: A must-have DVD... a great movie.
Review: One has only to look at the one-star reviews to see the impact Se7en has... the reviews don't trash the movie, rather they attempt to grapple with just how strong the psychological impact of the film (not so much a visceral horror film as only one murder is actually shown on-screen, Se7en derives much of its power from look and feel of the film... which is oppressive to say the least) had on them at the time of viewing. Obviously, it's a film that sticks with you long after the credits have crawled across the screen. With more decay than a David Lynch film, Se7en has a hopeless, downward spiral feel to it... much has been made of the "inevitable" ending for instance, but it's apparent from the opening credit sequence (a true stunner... and a film unto itself, complete with a twisted version of Nine Inch Nail's "Closer (to God)" played over the visuals like the chimes from Satan's ice cream truck) right to the end sequence in startling sunlight that David Fincher intended the film to be bereft of even the faintest glimmer of hope... and for that he ought to be commended, for though it may seem easy to do, it really is difficult to make an unsympathetic film viewable after more than one time (case in point: the equally disturbing, highly visceral, and nearly unwatchable "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer... which is actually compelling enough to ensure one sit-through, but unfriendly enough to avoid repeated viewings). The DVD is excellent beyond measure (unless you set the bar for extras and DVD quality at the Criterion "Brazil" set... then it's only pretty damn good). The extras are worthy enough to sit through a few times, and the look of the DVD version of the movie is excellent, as is the sound. Although popular and pop enough to share the shelf with crap like "Armageddon," Se7en is also at home on the same shelf as any Lynch, Gilliam or Greenaway film... it's that good -- narratively, stylistically, and aesthetically an amazing film. Though not a happy popcorn-movie, it's an absolute must have if you love American filmmaking at its finest.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible. One of the greatest homocide thrillers ever.
Review: Seven is gripping from the beginning to the end. The strength in this film is the very intricate and well developed plot, the excellent casting (including Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann from Full Metal Jacket) and the powerful statement. In every single David Fincher film, he always questions our modern society and the way we function in our every day lives. He makes a bold statement in the movie using the quote towards the end "We accept it because it is common." The movie really makes you re-think modern society and our station in life. The movie takes place in a dark, cold and overcast urban environment where crime does not seem to be a stranger. There are motifs to many classic books such as Paradise Lost. All actors and actresses did an excellent job, most notably Morgan Freeman as Detective Somerset, a retiring homocide detective who has traditionally been good at his job. The movie screams for attention, and the audience cannot help but obey. The movie left me shocked, amazed and mesmerized. This movie is one of the greatest of its time. It is well directed, well played, and well written. Almost as good as The Usual Suspects.

Rating:
Summary: 2nd best Movie by Fincher, And is UNDERATED!
Review: Se7en is a great movie starring Pitt, Freeman and Spacey. Its a great movie that shows crazy killer who goes around killing people according to the seven sins. It has a very good story and great acting by all the actors. People don't give movies like this the respect it deserves! This is also another movie that you can watch over and over again and it doesn't get boring. David Fincher is a great Director and this movie is really his first really good movie. I recommened this movie to any fans of great movies. The DVD is also very good with plenty of extras, perfect sound (DTS) and excellent sound! If you haven't seen this movie, go out and buy it, Its great!!

Rating:
Summary: Se7en -The best in my collection
Review: Is it not amazing that even when you know the narrative and plot inside out you can watch a film again and again. That's why we fans collect films I suppose. Se7en is the best thriller i have ever seen and is ever likely to be. I saw it first uncut at the cinema and then many times both on TV and DVD. ... the poor customer was forced at gunpoint to have sex with the prostitute and he was made to wear a ghastly contraption that was like a terrible dagger - I leave the rest to your imagination. The camera shots of the photos shown of this crime scene were so quick that you need to be very observant to catch the drift.That's why the poor guy was in such a state of shock.
Terrific story line and I truly believe one of the most shocking and unexpected endings that i have ever seen. How well John Doe's manipulation of the character of David Mills fulfilled the only ending possible. I enjoyed the way Sommerset was researching the work of Dante in order to try to solve the crime.I sat in the cinema quite numb, barely believing how cleverly David Fincher had led me in a direction that I was not expecting and was annoyed with myself that I did not see it coming. ... Very brave of the director to take that route and that's why he is so good. We need more films like this to kepe alive the great thrill of movie viewing. ...
I don't think that you can fault this film. For its genre it surpasses everything. Freeman and Pitt together were foils to one another and no I don't think that Paltrow needed a more developed role, her part in the movie was just right.
...often talking about violent acts has more impact than showing them, and this is why Se7en is so effective.
For those of you who have not had the privilege of seeing this movie, hire it asap or better still buy it!

Rating:
Summary: What do filmmakers owe an audience?
Review: For the entirety of this movie, the viewer is pulled down into the bleakest depths, dragged through the darkest corners of a most pitiless, murderous mind, and there -- as the closing credits roll -- we are left. Which is the most unworthy thing a filmmaker can do. I was genuinely outraged by "Seven", not because of its sadistic violence, but because it could find no cause to transform that violence into some kind of redeeming moment. In "Seven", the filmmakers do the easiest thing possible: create a fiendish murderer who kills in the most gruesome ways imaginable. That's EASY. A truly good film would have taken that premise and done something creative with it; fashioned a story that would have released the audience from its unrelentingly bleak grip with an ennobling insight, event, word, moment ... anything. As it is, this movie only seems intent on sucking the viewer as far as possible into the abyss. There's nothing remarkable about an achievement like that. In "Poetics," Aristotle discusses "catharsis" in Greek tragedy as something owed the audience by the playwright. A drama may steep an audience in cruel travail, but to be truly successful as art, the work must purge those intense audience emotions -- bring "catharsis" to the events of the drama. There is no catharsis in this movie. The only reaction left to us is anger for being so manipulated by the filmmakers.

And it is a shame, because I thought at one point this movie had the potential for greatness (the cinematography is magnificent), difficult as it was watching and as contrived as the plotline is. Because, of course, I expected a worthy director, a worthy writer, would finally take this dark vision and transform it into light, even if just a small hint of light. That doesn't happen. As viewers, we have been exploited ... and [taken advantage of]. This isn't art. This isn't good movie making. This is profiting in meanness.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent (yet disturbing)
Review: This film did an excellent job in portraying the mind of a sick individual. The film is dark (and I don't mean the lighting), and is filmed mostly in the rain to help increase the general dreary atmosphere. The actors do a great job at helping the audience relate to them and understand their individual point of views. Although Brad Pitt's "method acting" in his first scene of the movie was somewhat - not cool. He rebounds and does an excellent job of conveying the general feeling of the audience in the final scenes. But I can't say what he does without ruining it for anyone who has yet to see this masterpiece of a sick mind.

Rating:
Summary: too much is a good thing.
Review: the commentary with david fincher, brad pitt, and morgan freeman is probably the most rambling commentary i've ever heard on a DVD. it's a little tragic the way fincher fawns all over pitt like a high skool new media dork with a secret crush on the quarterback. pitt himself uses big words and concepts a little incoherently - but i'm sure he looks great while he does it. freeman just seems to think it's "inside the actor's studio with morgan freeman," because he constantly goes off on these half-hour lectures over the fine points of screen-versus-stage acting or whatever, usually in the middle of my favorite scenes when i really wish they would talk about what's actually going on.

still, it's a nice movie, very stylish, very consciously film noir in the classic detective sense, though it thoroughly explored the boundaries of the R-rating in 1995. fincher knows what he's doing in creating an atmosphere of decayed, malevolent beauty, as anybody who's seen any of his films or videos knows. it's very gothic and not believable at all if you take any time to think about it - the murder scenes are especially over-the-top, "cute," contrived and storyboarded, even considering that john doe is a 90's kind of lunatic with a strong sense of irony. but for what it's worth, i like that theatricality. give me the ludicrous and beautifully revolting eye-candy of se7en anyday over the "hyperreal" shaky grainy camcorder of...well, you know.

as for the actors, morgan freeman is typically understated and believable, but his character is really just the straight man to brad pitt's overblown drama-queen tough-guy, whose histrionics suggest an attempt to channel brando. gwyneth paltrow is as good as anybody in the rather one-dimensional role of "the wife." she doesn't do anything in the movie really except hang out in the apartment; her character is critical to the plot simply by virtue of who she is to pitt. of course, kevin spacey pulls off the role of john doe the serial killer with both hands cuffed behind his back. he's pretty much what you were expecting: shaved head; manifest "schizophrenic" behavior patterns; creepy, deliberate diction; and that strange combination of prissy righteousness and pathological malevolence that has been movie shorthand for "homicidal nut" at least since silence of the lambs.

everything is a little bit "too much" in this film; the moral is, that's entertainment. but the "surprise" ending actually is the most logical way to go with this storyline. fincher just had the balls to go there and stay there and not condescend to the audience's supposed sentimentaility. i haven't watched the alternate ending(s) but if they mess with the basic theme in any way, i'm sure they're horrible. if you're going to make this kind of movie, i.e. the grim commentary on the sickness of modern society from the point-of-view of one of its sickest, you don't weasel your way out of it at the end just to pander to a demo.

one last interesting point is that this film is not yet a decade old, yet it's already been pirated conceptually on so many levels that it really does lack the power today that it had when it came out. the obvious case-in-point is the title sequence, which was groundbreaking in its day, as hard as that is to believe. now (as brad pitt observes) you've seen the same technique in every trifling car ad on TV, every music video, every sitcom intro, etc. all successful films are copycatted, but they really went nuts with se7en. still, there's enough substance under the style to redeem a watch - even though it may already seem slightly old skool!