Movie Review: Hancock

By Anne Brodie Jul 3, 2008, 17:38 GMT

Will Smith stars as a hard-living superhero who has fallen out of public favour. ...more

Will Smith is unrecognizable as an alcoholic, lonely and dispossessed superhero who is a thousand years old but only looks ten years older. Under stubble, crust and flies lies a man who just doesn’t care for anyone’s approval anymore. He’s a superhero on a bender.

He saves lives and intervenes to carry out rescue missions, but he causes more damage than the situation would have, like billions of dollars in damage to the cityscape as he crashes into buildings and destroys highways.

It’s an unusual kind of superhero to be sure, and a kind of fascinating one. Hancock’s character goes against the stereotype and is unusual because he has no desire to improve himself or his life and he certainly doesn’t care about people he saves.

He’ll threaten and swear at an elderly woman, hurt a child, whatever strikes his low grade fancy. He claims he wants to be left alone. Where did the glory go?
Satire aside, he’s a homeless and conflicted sad sack who hates the people he saves.

 His ‘heroics’ are knee-jerk; simply habit acquired over hundreds of years. The people know it and launch a campaign to get rid of him.

But a hotshot agent played by Jason Bateman, whom Hancock meets by accident, sees dollar signs in Hancock. He figures rehabilitation; a crowd-pleasing comeback is just the ticket.

However, the film loses any sense, interest and worth halfway through. Just about when the film’s biggest surprise, revealed by Charlize Theron, would indicate good things. Instead, it becomes increasingly messy incomprehensible and lost.

He ‘reforms’ too easily. It could have been so much more interesting.

Aren’t we just so over superheroes by now? Still so many more to fly into our theatres this summer and I’m wiped bored with the whole concept.  With the possible exception of Dark Knight and what’s said to be an Oscar worthy anti-hero performance by Heath Ledger.

Berg has uses the shaky, too tight camera technique he used on The Kingdom to good effect. But here, it’s just so damned annoying, blocking out the view we should have. Isn’t that a tired, two decades old fad?

For a film with a fresh idea, it quickly becomes tired.

Theron’s character isn’t entirely likeable. She is the ad guy’s wife with a prior connection to Hancock. She’s shrill and testy and has a sizeable axe to grind. The material is beneath this fine actress.

Bateman, who has marvelous screen presence, is the film’s only emotionally recognizable character. He has the patience and goodwill to take on Hancock and a good sense of worth and realism who finds a drunken superhero in his lap. I’d like to see a movie about that guy!

Even after a number of misfires, Will Smith is invincible. Like our flawed superhero, he can overcome any bad film. He’s popular and likeable and seems always to be critic proof.  Since Independence Day was released twelve years ago, Smith has been the King of the July Long Weekend. It won’t be any different this year.

35mm action drama
Written Directed by Pete Berg
Written by Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan
Opens:   July 2
Runtime:   92 minutes
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language
Country: US
Language: English