Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey

Police drama about two cops, one new and one about to retire, tracking a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as his motive.

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94% liked it

403,294 ratings

Critics

84% liked it

50 critics

R, 2 hrs. 8 min.

Directed by: David Fincher

Release Date: September 22, 1995

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DVD Release Date: April 14, 1997

Stats: 29,320 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (29,320)


  • September 16, 2009
    Fincher has made the best ever serial killer movie with Seven. I believe he might have even killed off the genres as Seven is a hard film to better, in fact the only great serial killer movie that?s been made since was directed by Fincher (Zodiac). The best thing about this film...( read more) is that, even though the first time is the best time, you can still enjoy it on repeat viewing. Brilliant!
  • July 7, 2009
    A retiring detective and his young successor investigate a series of bizarre murders based on the seven deadly sins. The lukewarm reception for David Fincher's debut Alien 3 resulted in most writing him off as another style over substance hack from the MTV generation, but boy did...( read more) he learn from his mistakes. No-one was expecting his follow up to be much of interest; let alone a virtual modern masterpiece. Fincher had clearly been studying the stylistic hallmarks of Ridley Scott, and the dark, brooding atmosphere crossed with artistic visuals are very much in his tradition. Although the formula of world-weary educated gentleman cop teamed up with a young hot head is hardly an original one, excellent performances and intelligent writing steer the material clear of cliche, and the imagery of the grotesque never descends into unnecessary gore or sensationalism. Complimented by a suitably claustrophobic soundtrack and a brilliantly unpredictable plot twist, I struggle to see how this film could have been any better. In the absurdly overcrowded marketplace of the serial killer movie, this stands head and shoulders above the rest as the very, very best of the genre. And yes, that includes the over-rated Silence Of The Lambs.
  • June 27, 2009
    "Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light."

    Police drama about two cops, one new and one about to retire, after a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as his MO.

    REVIEW
    ...( read more)nter>
    Disturbing, gory, violent, this mind-blowing, cleverly-written thriller is one of the best movies of the '90's, and a classic of its genre; no thriller after Seven will ever be this great, although movies don't get tired of trying; but like Chinatown, Seven set the stakes too high.

    At first, the movie seems just the tired of cliche of having an intelligent, patient old detective just about to retire, and a smart-mouthed impulsive rookie together - but it is beyond that; Morgan Freeman, in the Oscar-deserving role of William Somerset, contrasts Brad Pitt's young detective David Mills, in a role that restored Pitt some credibility as a real actor - both are different aspects of life: hope and despair, which has much to do with the theme of the movie.

    Together, they look for a serial killer with a well defined purpose and a really sick MO: each of his victims represent one of the seven deadly sins, through which deaths the killer wants to show how sick our society is for allowing and accepting walking sins everywhere; never a serial killer was this good since Hannibal Lecter, but Kevin Spacey's character, John Doe, is even more disturbing due to his sense of purpose.

    Never boring, actually very intelligent, the movie flies away for two hours of twists and action, until reaching the only possible satisfactory conclusion - can't tell it, but it's up there with The Usual Suspects, The Sixth Sense and Memento.

    And between the first and last death, the viewer experiences a journey through the worst humanity has to offer, as screenplayer Andrew Kevin Walker includes some of his philosophy on our daily life, mostly explored during the conversations between Mills and Somerset.

    David Fincher makes thus a slow-paced, sometimes action-packed, cerebral thriller out of the horrors of our society, making his work only more poignant through good editing, dark sets and very tiwsted angles.
  • May 7, 2009
    The type of movie hollywood would never dare to make again.
  • March 28, 2009
    The film with the best film ending ever! David Fincher?s ?Seven? is one of those films you can endlessly watch over and over and never become bored of, when I remember back to the first time of watching it, the storyline was impressive, there were many tense moments and of cours...( read more)e it has become one of the best and most remembered Serial Killer movies ever made. Kudos to Kevin Spacey for his short, but great role as John Doe.

    I have to leave a speech from the film which is too long to put into the quote section above:

    David Mills: Wait, I thought all you did was kill innocent people.
    John Doe: Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man... a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!
    David Mills: Murderers?
    John Doe: A woman...
    David Mills: Murderers, John, like yourself?
    John Doe: [interrupts] A woman... so ugly on the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. What I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed... forever.
  • November 12, 2009
    it's a good movie old though but good soo ille watch over and over kk.b.doll..
  • November 11, 2009
    It's not a perfect movie...but it's my kind of movie. I liked it very much. And the unexpected visit from Kevin Spacey was great.
  • November 5, 2009
    Muy caņona! he dicho!
  • November 4, 2009
    There is nothing about this movie that is short of perfect. In my opinion, one of the greatest movies ever made. Everyone gives an all-star performance in this film. One of Kevin Spacey's best roles of all time. I wish he would play a villain more often. Also, exemplary performan...( read more)ces by Brad Pitt as well as Morgan Freeman. Se7en is one of those films that no matter how many times a day it is on television, I will watch it. A great psychological thriller. Fincher out did himself when he made this film. Top ten movies of all time.
  • November 2, 2009
    This seems like something I would enjoy; but every time I sit down to watch this film, I am never impressed. I think my main problem is that all the big name actors in this film don't play any of their characters flat and straight-forward; even Morgan Freeman over reaches with hi...( read more)s calm, collective archetype. Concurrently, the seven deadly sins theme for a serial killer sounds appealing upon consideration; but while watching the flick, I have no sense of suspense while waiting for the next murder to appear on screen (i.e., "There's been another murder?... and they wrote 'Lust' on the wall!... Who saw that coming?"). There is another aspect of the film I find annoying, but I can't delve into it without spoilers.

    Logistically, the film works. But in terms of entertainment value, everything just seems spelled out.


    "Feeble contrivance turns out to be one of "Seven's" deadly sins. Key plot points are not always believable, and a great many of the film's twists are visible a considerable way down the road. When you add a level of pretension that indicates somebody believed this picture had profound things to say about the human condition, the results are regrettable. What keeps "Seven" alive, aside from Morgan Freeman's performance, is the film's visual strength. . . Regrettably, all this expertise, including an ability to create apartments so roach-ridden and rundown you can practically smell the decay, has been put in the service of what is basically a detailed viewing of the gruesome workings of a perverse mind. "Seven" does not seem like anyone's idea of entertainment, but public executions drew big crowds in their day and there is little reason to believe that human nature has gotten any more refined and elegant in the interim." - Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times)

Critic Reviews


May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Seven wants to abrade, not ingratiate. full review

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Good as it is, it misses greatness by not quite finding the right way to end. full review

View more Seven (Se7en) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • wmx7tx
    September 16, 2007
    One scene. Just one retake of one scene stops Se7en from being excellent. Fincher creates a dark and disturbing world, from Andrew Kevin Walker's brilliant script. Morgan Freeman gives a great performance and has good chemistry with Pitt. Gwyneth Paltrow gives a very subtle, understated performance. Kevin Spacey is the standout here, creating one of the most interesting on-screen villains ever. Pitt gives a very good performance. I wanna call it a great performance, but her overacts in the big scene and hurts the entire movie.
  • sujansays
    June 19, 2007
    "super- is the word" for this movie. i was amzed to c this and was very shocked to c the climax...its just amazing
  • PinkBohemianSweetie
    June 19, 2007
    I saw this film when I was 11 years-old, that was like 10 years ago. Anyway, I was so freaked out by this movie. You'll know that it's a Fincher film, because of his signiture camera shots... ^*^
  • jensrae
    April 25, 2007
    i love this movie this is one of the best mystory move ever
  • babilur
    March 27, 2007
    it must be one of the greatest film endings ever!!
  • comicfoo91
    October 2, 2006
    This is an amazing movie, unfortunately, the ending was spoiled for me before I saw it, but I still enjoyed this film to the maximum.
  • Soulonsale
    August 7, 2006
    Loved this film from the start until the end. A thriller that will never leave you, and clearly one of the best murder mystery!
  • os99
    July 25, 2006
    i love this movie, it could have been the predictable detective movie/thriller, but its more realistic and has a haunting atmosphere that leaves you gagged at the end.
  • JeT0425
    June 14, 2006
    Could pass as my favourite movie of all time. When you watch this for the first time it is the most exhilirating experience... It's such an intense movie. The ending is so shocking, too! AHH! I love this movie!
  • spencerstilwell
    June 13, 2006
    I didn't like Brad Pitt's character in the movie, but the whole story and ending made up for it. Definetly a must see movie.

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Seven (Se7en) Trivia


  • What film have both Kevin Spacey and Brad Pitt in?  Answer »
  • This is a quote from which film -"When a person is insane, as you clearly are, do you know that you're insane? Maybe you're just sitting around, reading Guns -n- Ammo" ?  Answer »
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