Smith's Latest Masterpiece Showcases His Amazing Evolution

CLEVELAND -  Once upon a time, Will Smith was known as a rap artist named "The Fresh Prince." On his popular 1990's television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he was often called Master William.

That name has never been more fitting than right now.

Smith, 40 has been a Hollywood phenomenon for several years now. His latest film, Seven Pounds hit movie theaters nationwide today and will most likely open at number one, the 9th consecutive Smith flick to do such a thing, which would add to his all-time record. I attended an early morning screening of the film today and was blown away.

For real.

Smith plays conflicted and mysterious IRS agent Ben Thomas, who seeks out seven ailing strangers for an initially unknown reason. One of them is Emily, beautifully played by Rosario Dawson and whom Smith's character develops an intimate, if not complex relationship with. Emily has a serious heart condition, which in many ways drives the narrative to its tearjerker conclusion. 

With something awful in Ben's past haunting him (through perplexing flashbacks), his unlikely mission becomes less altruistic and more of a guilt-ridden, self-cleansing which somehow comes off as near revolutionary, as far as spiritual, thought provoking films go. 

I had to fight hard to keep those tears locked up.

In addition to Seven Pounds, Smith's previous three films have signaled a dramatic shift in the stories he wishes to tell the world and have showcased his stunning development as an actor. In 2006's The Pursuit of Happyness, he skillfully stepped into the unglamorous shoes of a tough luck homeless man who stopped at nothing to achieve the life he wanted. 2007's I Am Legend was brilliant because of Smith's outstanding execution of a script that essentially called for him to power the film singlehandedly and with no other actors to feed off of.

He pulled that off in a huge way.

This past summer, Hancock was, on the surface, just another superhero action flick. But add in the drunken, dysfunctionality of the title character and Smith's nuanced portrayal becomes even more magnified.

Seven Pounds may or may not be Smith's tour-de-force. But in his 15-year film career, I cannot find another performance nearly as well done or as meaningful as this one.

He is LEGEND.