Will Smith: Wrap-Up

I think I'm about Will Smith-ed out. I know he has some other great movies out there and I couple that I was really hoping to get to, but I think it's time to move on, and I think I'll be a little more choosy in the future when I pick out what to watch.

I'm deciding how to do the wrap-up as I go, so I think I'll just do a review of the movies that I posted, and then let you know what I think of some of the others that I've seen but didn't get to post about. My ranking system might upset some, but this is my first attempt at ranking movies. It's also just an opinion, so calm down and leave your own opinion if you'd like :-)



Posted:
Made in America (1993)
One of Will's earlier movies, and you can tell. However, I do think it is worth a watch. It was entertaining, and the more well-known actors (Whoopi, mostly) make it worthy of a chance. Will is still  in The Fresh Prince at the time, and it's a very similar character. We don't get to see him much in this film, but we do get to see him shake his butt like an angry girl. He's young and pretty silly, but I think the movie, overall, is fairly enjoyable.
Movie: 7/10
Will Smith: 8/10






Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
This movie was made the same year, but is quite different. Will Smith is much more serious and shows his ability to be very different people. We see his more sophisticated 'Harvard' side, but we also the more familiar Fresh Prince hiding in there occasionally. This is a film adaptation of a stage play, but I have not been able to see the play. I think it would be a more effective storyline on stage, but the film isn't bad. There are a lot of monologues from Will here that I found hard to follow but still very interesting. And the movie does bring up a lot of thinking points. Not necessarily a film for entertainment perse (which is, admittedly, what I'm usually looking for), but I think it's worth the time at least once.
Movie: 6/10
Will Smith: 9/10







Bad Boys: 1 (1995) & 2 (2003)
Will Smith starts to grow up a little here. I guess he doesn't look young enough to play the high schooler anymore (though, there's still a year of Fresh Prince after the first one, I believe). He teams up with Martin Lawrence in these films, and the two of them are one of the most comedically-talented police duos I've seen. (I know comedically probably isn't a word, but you know what I mean...)
Movies: 8/10
Will Smith: 8/10






Independence Day (1996)
Will is officially done with The Fresh Prince and we move on into the adult world, though we still see a little of the silly kid in there occasionally. Independence Day may just seem like another alien movie, but I think it's much more enjoyable than the stereotypical alien movie, especially for a mid-90s film. I think Will Smith and the rest of the characters add just enough comedy and sarcasm to a film about the extinction of the human race. And there's always the Independence Day speech that everyone loves so much.
Movie: 8/10
Will Smith: 9/10



Ali (2001)
I did at least get to the 2000s. I was hoping to do his oldest and his newest, and I didn't get to either one. Whoops...Anyway, I know that Ali was probably an incredibly difficult movie to make, because Ali was a very incredible man. I do think, however, that this film tried to fit in way too much of an incredible man's life into one movie. I believe Will Smith did a wonderful job portraying Ali, but I do think that it was one of the few times you could see Will Smith behind Ali. It is also one of the few times he plays an actual person, though. This ranking, in particular, might make people angry, but it just didn't seem to flow as well as it could have to me.
Movie: 7/10
Will Smith: 7/10



Not Posted:



Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996)
I was one of the biggest fans of the Fresh Prince when I was younger. I was born a little too late to watch it as it came out, but I watched re-runs until I think I've seen every episode at least once. And I, like almost anyone born in the 90s, can sing the theme song whenever someone says the first three words. Don't you hate when people say, "In West Philadelphia"? :-) Anyway, I think this show is great, and everyone should watch at least some of the episodes, regardless of what decade you were born in. Will Smith does a great job portraying an irresponsible high schooler who slowly learns how to be part of the family.
Show: 8/10
Will Smith: 8/10

Men in Black: 1 (1997), 2 (2002), 3 (2012)
Will Smith seems to like to deal with aliens, though this is quite different from the Independence Day aliens. I love the idea that aliens live here and no one knows. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true; I'd actually kind of love to find out. I'm not an alien weirdo, but I think it would be awesome to meet them, especially if they were nice or at least neutral. I haven't seen these movies in a while, but I know that I enjoyed watching Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones work together. They make a really great team, and if the world ever needed someone to keep track of and control the aliens we live with, I would want them to be there. Even the third movie was better than I expected it to be.
Movies: 8/10
Will Smith: 8/10

Enemy of the State (1998)
I haven't seen this movie in a very, very long time, so I don't even know if my ranking is worth putting, but I do remember liking this one. Someone should watch it and let me know what THEY think!














Wild Wild West (1999)
Will Smith didn't even like this movie. When he found out that it was going to be one of the top-seller, he was very disappointed. But I guess that's what happens when everyone loves you. I didn't hate the movie, but it was definitely not a favorite. It's been a while since I've watched this one, too, but it's on Instant Watch on Netflix if anyone wants to give it another shot. I still found it entertaining, though nothing special, and I thought Will Smith did a pretty good job doing what he was supposed to do.
Movie: 6/10
Will Smith: 7/10

I, Robot (2004)
I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed this movie. We build robots to make our lives easier, and eventually they could outnumber us. Then, of course, something goes wrong and they try to take over the world 'for our own good'. But, it's okay, ever-skeptic Will Smith is here to save us from ourselves and from the robots we've created.
Movie: 9/10
Will Smith: 8/10

Shark Tale (2004)
It always amazes me when actors can make such drastically different movies in the same year. Fighting robots and jumping through windows to an animated fish taking advantage of the death of a mobster fish. I found this movie entertaining and enjoyable, which is usually the purpose of animated films.
Movie: 8/10
Will Smith: 8/10

Hitch (2005)
A different side of Will Smith is here when he does his first pure romantic comedy. I love him in his action-packed movies, but I think he pulls of the rom-com pretty well, too. I was entertained and parts of it even made me laugh out loud, though Will Smith is good at that.
Movie: 8/10
Will Smith: 8/10

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
This movie was simply amazing. I love that Will and his son got to work together, and that probably contributed to the success of the father/son bond in the movie. It's a heart-breaking story, but it's also very inspirational. I'm not usually one for the inspirational, make-me-cry movies, but this film was fantastic, and Will Smith made you feel every single minute of it.
Movie: 9/10
Will Smith: 10/10

I Am Legend (2007)
Another movie that I didn't think I would be very fond of. I usually hate the zombie movies, even though they're not really zombies. It was another of those 'look what we did and ruined the world' movies. I thought it was a great movie, even though there were certain depressing parts I could do without, but I know that movies sometimes need depressing parts or they'd be completely unrealistic and boring.
Movie: 9/10
Will Smith: 9/10

Hancock (2008)
I was fairly disappointed in this film. I thought it had potential. A drunken, failed superhero? Not a movie idea you see often. I felt like it would have been a much better-accepted film with the promise of a sequel (which we have now, but it's been 4 years!). I liked parts of it, and I thought Will Smith pulled of the alcoholic Superman surprisingly well. Now that there's a sequel coming out, I'm hoping the two movies go together to finish the story.
Movie: 7/10
Will Smith: 8/10

Seven Pounds (2008)
The title is a reference to the Shakespeare play "The Merchant of Venice," in which a merchant promises to give a pound of his flesh if his debt isn't paid on time. Will Smith's character helps 7 people (so he gives 7 pounds) in retribution for a mistake he made two years ago. Many people disagreed with the film and it's ideas, but I thought it was a great thought-provoking movie. I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember really enjoying the ideas behind it. It's not for entertainment really, but it makes you think.








Upcoming Movies:
After Earth (2013)
After a crash landing, a father and son explore a planet that was evacuated by humans 1,000 years earlier.

Winter's Tale (2013)
A fantasy story set in 19th Century and present-day Manhattan and revolves around a thief, a dying girl, and a flying white horse.

Hancock 2 (????)
Unknown

Bad Boys 3 (????)
Unknown

I, Robot 2 (2015)
Unknown