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It’s been three years since Will Smith’s last movie, Seven Pounds, was released. It told the story of a man who changed the lives of seven strangers. It was not advertised much, and it did not receive very good critical reception, but it was a fine film, led by Will Smith’s dramatic and excellent performance. Earlier that summer, Hancock was released, a movie which was more than successful during its box office run. This was undeserving, as the movie had a poor story, the characters were not developed well, and the movie overall was just not entertaining enough for anyone to sit through a second viewing, ever again. Despite Hancock’s faults, the movie still grossed a significant amount of money, and this was due to the presence of Will Smith (the combination of Will Smith and Charlize Theron might have helped, but Will Smith was the main reason for the movie’s success). Prior to Seven Pounds, Will Smith was the running champion as the actor with the most consecutive domestic grosses of $100+ million, at eight. This number may not seem like an astounding figure, considering the increasing number of films crossing the $100 million mark nowadays (inflated prices are one of the main reasons), but every year has its share of disappointing films, not just in quality, but in box office gross, and even the some of the better actors tend have a lower grossing movie than had been estimated. An example is Matt Damon’s Green Zone, a film which cost approximately $100 million to make and produce, but only grossed a mere $35 million domestically, far lower than studio predictions before the film’s release. As another example, Johnny Depp recently starred in The Tourist with Angelina Jolie, and the movie’s performance was fairly underwhelming for the two actors. From time to time, even some of the better actors will choose to star in independent films (indies – films produced outside of a major studio) or low budget films that tend to focus more on attaining positive critical reception rather than high box office grosses.
Will Smith began acting in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and it was evident that his acting abilities were strong. He played himself in the show (to some extent – the stupidity he exhibits throughout the show is obviously not how he acted in everyday life), having moments of comedy, stupidity, and drama. In one episode when his father (who left his mother when Will Smith was a child) comes back to see him, only to leave him again in the end, Will Smith breaks down emotionally, and displays his ability to deliver an exceptional dramatic performance. In all of his movies, Will Smith has strong performances which not only make him stand out in comparison to his acting counterparts, but attract viewers and fans from all around, making even the most satisfactory films into blockbusters. This can be seen through Hancock, because it grossed a lot more than it was worth in terms of movie quality.
Here are Will Smith’s movies since he became a hit on the big screen (I have yet to see Made in America and Six Degrees of Separation): Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Ali, Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, I Robot, Sharktale, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness (in which he delivered an outstanding performance - just watch the scene in the subway washroom), I Am Legend, Hancock, Seven Pounds. From this list, aside from Independence Day, there is not a movie which really stands out as a movie that will be remembered, yet the majority of the movies mentioned have crossed the $100 million domestic mark. The reason is that Will Smith has built up a reputation of creating entertaining movies that attract viewers from all sides. His performances are another reason. Will Smith began his career in comedy; it was what got him his initial reputation. With the exception of Hitch, and to some extent Men in Black, Will Smith has not acted in comedies since his Fresh Prince days. That’s not to say he’s lost his comedic touch, but he’s transformed as an actor, from a television star into a reliable movie star who delivers dramatic performances that gross millions at the box office. He’s been nominated for two Oscars, and if he can continue making good quality films, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that number increase. Demonstrating how one actor can lead a film singled-handedly, in I Am Legend, Will Smith is forced to act by himself for the majority of the movie, meaning that if an inexperienced or an average actor was chosen for the role, the movie would not have performed as well, and would not have been as good of a movie. Will Smith acts superbly throughout the movie and has a certain charisma about him, making you feel connected to him and sharing his emotions. He does this in all of his films; this is a reason why his movies are so successful. He is one of the best current actors in Hollywood; his performances are without a fault. This is a reason his asking price is $20 million per film, because he’s built a reputation of delivering excellent performances and making high grossing films.
Will Smith has been on a three year hiatus from the movie industry, and really needs to resume acting. He is too busy promoting his children’s careers in acting and in music, which I fully support, but the fact of the matter is that Will Smith is one of this generation’s most talented actors, and his fans desperately want to see him in another movie. He is currently filming Men in Black III, but the second film was a disappointment, and the hype surrounding the third is not that great. He needs to create an original non-sequel film, like most of his other movies, but is currently not signed to do anything else besides Men in Black III. For now, unfortunately, we must wait.
Jovan Atanackovic
@FunSocialJovan on Twitter
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