"Hancock" Review - Written by TonyD

“Hancock”
2008
**½ out of ****
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron


“At least there was no fucking aliens…”


That, my friends, is the quote that I said once I walked out of “Hancock.” I would be lying to my faithful readers if I said that I absolutely hated the movie, but I would be lying too if I said that this movie was worse than last Fourth’s “Transformers.” “Hancock” could have been much worse, and while I can’t really recommend it as far as my star rating goes, if you are a fan of Will Smith, you’ll like “Hancock.” If you’re expecting a superhero version of “Hitch,” you’re sadly mistaking. This is a superhero version of “South Park.”

Will Smith plays John Hancock, a man that you would probably see everyday on your way to work in the city. He’s a homeless drunk who is always sleeping on the bench and is being picked on by little kids. Little do many people know that Hancock has these superpowers, such as flying while drunk, enormous strength while drunk, and threatening to stick people’s heads up other people’s ass… while drunk. He is known to save the world, but manages to destroy something at the same time. It should come no surprise that people hate Hancock, but he doesn’t give two shits and a nickel.

After saving PR agent Ray Embrey, (Jason Bateman) he invites Hancock back to his home where he meets his wife Mary (Charlize Theron) and son Aaron. (Jae Head) Ray makes a proposal with Hancock – if he cleans up his act, Hancock will be loved and adored by many. This plan begins when Hancock is forced to turn himself in to the police. That day, a few of the people who were sent to jail by Hancock try and fuck with him. Will Smith gives the words “eat ass” a whole new meaning.

The first half of “Hancock” is probably some of Will Smith’s greatest works next to last year’s “I Am Legend.” This first half of “Hancock” isn’t filled with action, but rather is packed into a full-throttle superhero spoof. No one can truly appreciate Hancock’s actions because they always seem to fuck up in the end. Everyone thinks that he can’t be a superhero because he is an alcoholic, but that is because no one knows his true origins. But I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in a Will Smith movie since “I, Robot,” but that was for a completely different reason. That one wasn’t supposed to be funny.

The second half of “Hancock,” though, doesn’t work the least bit. Instead of being a superhero satire, it turns to a superhero drama. I’m not going to spoil this twist that is unleashed in this film, but it sort of felt like I was in a M. Night Shyamalan flick instead of a Will Smith film. The film is very uneven. One minute Will Smith is shoving someone up one guy’s ass and the next minute he and another character are throwing things at each other. This scene should have been an excellent fight sequence, but we never are given a sense as to why they are throwing things at each other. It’s quite idiotic.

And the biggest problem with this film is that you need a villain. That was the biggest problem with “Iron Man,” and that is the biggest problem with “Hancock.” When you make a superhero film, you got to make sure that you have a villain that is… well… villainous. In “Hancock,” there isn’t a single villain that is villainous, but rather a bunch of people who are suspected as being villains. At times people can consider Jason Bateman’s character to be a villain, at other times Charlize Theron’s character, and at other times, random people on the streets of L.A.

This film is basically run by Will Smith. This shouldn’t be a surprise because no one else could really hold this movie. As much as I do love Jason Bateman in the fantastic TV show “Arrested Development” and Peter Berg’s previous film “The Kingdom,” he’s not very good here. He has one expression throughout the entire movie – boredom. Charlize Theron isn’t good at all either. Her expression is the get-me-a-new-agent expression.

While this is the part I should be bitching at the director, I have a feeling that a lot of this isn’t his fault. Last year, Julie Taymor went through the same problems with her film “Across the Universe.” Sony executives thought it was too long and too complex that it was being edited by Sony’s very own president without Taymor’s approval. With “Hancock,” director Peter Berg originally wanted to make a darker movie than what Sony wanted. He wanted an R-rated film. He filmed a rape scene that was originally cut out of the film. I don’t really know what that has to do with the movie, but could it help just the least bit?

Still, while I can’t recommend this film, the first half is probably the most fun that you’ll have at the theater this summer. We’re being caught in a pickle between superhero movies. “Iron Man” kicked off the summer with stellar reviews, and since then, “The Incredible Hulk, “Wanted,” and now this followed. After the release of “Hellboy II” yesterday, I can assure you that all of these movies are better than “Hancock,” but this one doesn’t deserve to be overlooked either. Will Smith and Peter Berg better hope that this movie can get enough attention for the rest of the week, because come Friday, every single film will be forgotten about. All eyes will be focused on “The Dark Knight.”