Sinfully slow

Rating: 6/10 (27 July 2008)

Intentionally gloomy and unintentionally drab, Seven can be a difficult movie to watch for many reasons. The murders are shown and described in their most gory form. However, for a crime thriller, the movie moves at a surprisingly slow pace and the plot (beyond the brilliant idea of using seven sins) is almost too basic. Understandably, this movie was also to serve as a tirade against society and a critique of crime-ridden cities. But what the film loses in thrill value in achieving this is hardly justifiable, especially when the whole premise of this movie screams a feverishly fast and an intricate battle of wits. The film owes a lot of the accolades it receives to the 'brilliant' twist in the end. However, this film came at a time when the idea of a twist was a fairly novel concept. So, if you have sat though most of Chris Nolan's and Shyamalan's work before seeing this, you could out-think twist in this movie , and perhaps even expect it. That though is not the film's fault. It is watchable for its intriguing premise, good performances and subtle commentary. However, don't be surprised if it fails to fulfil your appetite for a real crime thriller.