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Seven (1995)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 3/03, 1/06, 6/20

Seven
1/06: Blowing The Silence of the Lambs out of the water, Seven is a brilliant neo-noir masterpiece.

The story is captivating with a shocking ending. It's hard to overcome the exquisite cinematography which elevates the film as a whole. Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey are spellbinding. None of them received an Oscar nomination; in fact, only one went to Best Film Editing which is a shame.

All in all, Seven is one of the best films of the 90's.

6/20: I used to think Seven was a masterpiece but not any more.

Despite the excellent photography and the unforgettable ending, it has problems that are tough to overlook. Brad Pitt plays the most annoying, not-too-bright character with the behavior of a 12-year-old kid with ADD tendencies. It's difficult to believe he made detective. What happened to his wife and unborn kid, I don't feel sorry for him, and he gets his comeuppance for being interested in looking cool.

Speaking of his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow appears in two significant scenes and has the flair for melodrama. Maybe her character should tone it down and try to, you know, mingle with the people around the city. I knew something would happen to her because of the three dead giveaways: the picture of a woman with blood around her eyes, her revelation to Somerset that she's pregnant, and Mills' serious character flaws as exhibited through three or four deadly sins.

It's interesting to see Morgan Freeman's character being totally prepared for this type of serial killer. The fact that he's up to date with The Canterbury Tales and other kinds of crap is uh....preposterous. Other than that, he's fine and gives a typical Morgan Freeman performance.

I didn't find Hannibal Lector of The Silence of the Lambs believable. Carrying the torch of superintelligent villains, Kevin Spacey makes a surprise appearance as the killer (that's because his name wasn't listed in the opening credits and I first saw the film in 1995). Of course, his Verbal Kint schtick is too good to believe. Sorry, no...I'm not buying it plus John Doe's explanation is stupid and goes over the top when he should've stayed quiet in order to bring his evil out more.

The first two murder scenes are given extensive treatment as if they're supposed to be fascinating, but the next three are treated in a routine manner. I can barely see what happened. So, what gives? The intensity keeps going down daily. Incidentally, it's not possible for a person to be force-fed until he bursts; ditto for being strapped to the bed for a year. Uh...bathroom breaks, anyone?

As for the ending, the police officers have the date, time, and setting, yet nobody bothers scoping the area in advance? The fact that it was full of power lines shouldn't be a surprise. Setting up snipers at several points is a good idea, too.

All in all, if Brad Pitt could be less annoying, my rating of Seven would've been higher.