Hancock (2008) Synopsis:
"Tonight, He Comes" centers on a tortured superhero (Will Smith) who crash-lands in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and tries to transform himself by romancing an alluring housewife, causing chaos in the city.
Hancock (2008) Movie Review:
Think of a super-hero that saves the day, but causes millions of dollars in collateral damage and he is also the world’s biggest jerk and you have Hancock (Will Smith). He is invincible, has super strength, does not age, and can fly, but he also likes the bottle and is very lazy. This is a terrific premise for a summer blockbuster and with A-list star Will Smith in the title role; Hancock seemed like a slam dunk. However, though the first half of the film is entertaining, a sweeping twist shifts the film into different gears, in which in combusts itself through its mess of a third act.
The film opens in Los Angeles with a sloppy and unshaven Hancock stopping some machine gun toting thugs, but causing nine million dollars in damage to the city and he not carrying a lick about it. Shortly afterwards he saves a public relations family man named Ray (Jason Bateman) from a being crushed by a moving train, but also causes more damage at the despise of the District Attorney and the citizens of LA. After helping Ray get home, we met his young son Aaron (Jae Head) and his dedicated homemaker wife Mary (Charlize Theron). Ray offers to repay Hancock by doing some imaging consultation for him to gain notoriety in the public eye. Though first apposed, Hancock agrees, and even goes to jail sentence to show his good faith. After some group therapy on addiction and anger management and a lot of time to think in jail, Hancock cleans himself up and is called upon to safe the day by the mayor. Next the twist ensues and takes the film into a darker realm with divulging the audience to Hancock’s origin.
It is very difficult to give specific examples of the flaws with Hancock without spoiling the twist, therefore this review will stay spoiler free. The twist is not that surprising if you pay attention to the beginning of the film, though it turns the film into an entirely different movie.
Director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, The Rundown, and The Kingdom) is an up and coming director with precise skill of capturing action pack sequences, moving drama, and balanced comedic timing. All three of these skills are apparent in Hancock, but Berg seems totally lost with the third act of the film and really not knowing what to do with it. The darker elements are a welcomed commodity to the film, but it does work with the action-comedy standards that are presented in the first act at all. It seems that the script by Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan was longer, more complex and bundled too many ideas together for this superhero character to handle. Then the producers or Berg came along and tried to dissect the mess, but perhaps may it even worse with too much going on, too much confusion, too many unanswered questions, and way too many ideas. It will interesting to see the DVD version of Hancock to see how much was cut out of this theatrical version, and if perhaps the film would be better with all the pieces on the cutting room floor are put together. Hancock was originally rated “R,” but due to its placement during the busy summer schedule, it was trimmed graciously to get a “PG-13” rating. There are so many desperate attempts at the genre in the final half of the film as well, including a terrible thrown in villain named Red (Eddie Marsan) that has no depth or structure, he just becomes the bad guy with one arm. The first half of the film does work though with showing the anti-hero that curses and degrades everyone, including cocky teenagers. It is disappointing that the disastrous script for this film could not have been logically put together and polished into an amusing blockbuster.
Will Smith is one of the biggest stars in the world and he does not disappoint as Hancock. Though the character is a foul-mouthed, arrogant, drunk, Smith still uses his likeable characteristics throughout the film. Jason Bateman practically shows up and just tries to keep up with Smith as his PR consultant Ray. Charlize Theron tries her best with the character of Mary, but like the script there are numerous inconsistencies with her character.
After starting out with a bang and an immense amount of promise, Hancock becomes bloated by a twist that turns the film into a cookie jar with too many hands in it. It is a disappointment despite the presence of a talented filmmaker like Peter Berg and a huge star like Will Smith.
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Hancock (2008) review written by: Bailey Henderson
7th September, 2008 
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