Hancock [2008] | | |
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Hancock turns the standard superhero movie inside-out. The titular character, played by Will Smith, can fly, has super strength and is invulnerable. But he's also a sloppy, arrogant alcoholic who causes millions of dollars in property damage whenever he bothers to fight crime. When he saves the life of a PR agent named Ray (Jason Bateman, Arrested Development), Ray decides to improve Hancock's image--starting by having Hancock surrender himself to the authorities and go to prison for his lawless behaviour. The idea is that once he's in prison, the crime rate will go up and people will start realising Hancock might be of value after all. This is only the first act of Hancock though--from there, the film takes several surprising turns that shouldn't be revealed. Hancock isn't a great movie, but it is an extremely entertaining one. The script, which holds together far better than most superhero movies, has a propulsive plot, good dialogue, some compassion for its characters, and even an actual idea or two. The spectacular action at least gestures towards obeying the laws of physics, which actually makes the special effects more vivid. The three leads (Smith, Bateman, and Charlize Theron as Ray's wife, Mary) deftly balance the movie's mixture of comedy, action, and drama. All in all, a smart subversive twist on a genre that all too often takes itself all too seriously. --Bret Fetzer
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 Near-perfect feelgood flick. Will Smith in top form July 9, 2008
Hooligween (Kernow, Great Britain)
37 out of 47 found this review helpful
Unlike most other blockbusters, the best bits of Hancock don't appear in the trailer. There's plenty more action, comedy and some serious dramatic plot twists, all of which adds up to a great two hours entertainment. So if you like the look of the trailer -- you're in luck: there's plenty more good stuff in the film itself.
Will Smith is on top form, ideally suited to the role of a scuzzy, down at heel superhero who's been hitting the booze (and hitting skyscrapers, trains, bad guys and anything else he blunders into). Hancock is a wise-ass and a careless, aggressive and anti-social guy who happens to be the most powerful person on the planet. So he isn't very popular with the general public... until he saves the life of a PR guy who then attempts to turn Hancock's situation around.
That's what the trailer shows us, together with some of the laugh-out-loud lines (including the moment when heads get inserted where the sun don't shine!). But the film has a lot more than that to offer including some snappy action scenes and (amazingly) A Real Plot which I'm not going to spoil here. It could almost be two movies, in fact; the first half sets up Hancock the drunk, and the second half explains the how and the why and resolves some of those issues -- but altogether it makes for funny and entertaining viewing. Hancock occasionally parodies 'serious' superhero movies but it never gets crass (well, not *too* crass), and the scattering of superhero in-jokes should keep fan boys happy while they don't detract at all from the action.
Hancock also manages to portray just what would happen if an ordinary bloke somehow became superhuman, without going into endless navel-gazing drizzle and teenage angst. Great power, in this case, can make a man mighty lonely. He doesn't even know if he's human, but Hancock certainly feels like an outsider when it comes to normal human society. So there's even some hidden depths to what looks at first glance like a superficial summer blockbuster...
Definitely worth seeing on a big screen or in high definition, and probably a DVD to buy and watch again when you need cheering up. If you enjoyed Men In Black then you'll love this: it suits Will Smith's style far more than the straight-laced I Am Legend.
Hancock is a 12A certificate, and pretty safe to watch with the whole family. Even the tasteless bit is redeemed by being excrutiatingly funny...
8/10
 meh September 10, 2008
Mr. N. Wildman (Beds, UK)
19 out of 26 found this review helpful
This film had sooooo much potential! I saw the advert on TV and immediately thought "what a great idea, a flawed superhero who acts just like a normal guy". A normal guy that has super strength, invulnerability and can fly that is.
The first half of the film is great fun, with some great humour. Unfortunately, the second half just doesn't follow suit. I won't ruin the plot but the film goes from a good giggle that doesn't take itself too seriously to something completely different: a piss-poor weak storyline that makes absolutely no sense and quite frankly bored me so much that I fell asleep. Will Smith (for whom I have a lot of respect as an actor) just isn't given the opportunity to shine, which is a real shame because he could have played the character so well given the chance. Charlize Theron is in the same boat but at least her character is given a little more depth.
All in all, a completely wasted opportunity. If you're thinking of buying it, trust me, rent it first to avoid disappointment.
Hancock September 4, 2008
C. MacLellan (Glasgow, Scotland)
18 out of 23 found this review helpful
`In Development' are the two words which can strike fear onto the hearts of any screenwriter. What it basically means is studios like the idea, but what can they do to squeeze every last penny from it. It was the `In Development' curse which befell the film Tonight, He Comes. For 12 years, Vincent Ngo's script had been wandering around Hollywood, trying to find a home. In that time, it managed to morph from a dark tale about a morally bankrupt superhero, who smokes, drinks, and sleeps with prostitutes (who die when he...erm...gets his most excited, wink, wink) to a family friendly summer blockbuster staring Will Smith. Why oh why do things have to change so much???
John Hancock (Will Smith) is your typical super-hero. Unlike other super-heroes though, his lazy, drunken attempts at fighting crime have caused massive damage and given him a bad reputation with the public. One day though, he is taken under the wing of PR guru Ray (Jason Bateman), who thinks he can solve Hancock's image problems. But Mary (Charlize Theron), Ray's wife, is apprehensive about her husband getting involved with the fallen hero.
Hancock is one of those Hollywood films made up for two separate parts. The first half is the half where the director has been allowed to do what he wants. And the second half is where the studio suits came in and it becomes a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. The first half of the film remains close to its anti-hero roots, with sharp, dark dialogue, and Hancock at his best when he's behaving badly, whether its launching mouthy children into the atmosphere, returning whales to the ocean or stopping the bad guys from getting away.
It is at exactly at the half way point of the film (honestly, at 46 minutes), when Hancock goes to jail, that the film turns. It then becomes a typical super-hero film, with all the usual hallmarks - a nemesis, a display of his range of powers and even a suit. However, these have all been ripped off from other films, mainly Superman. His nemesis, played by Eddie Marsan, is a poor man's Lex Luthor; he doesn't feel at all threatening, with Marsan seriously miscast in the role. Hancock's powers - flight, invulnerability and immortality - have also been taken from the famed Man of Steel. Even Hancock's suit looks like it has been stolen from Wolverine's wardrobe. When the studio suits eventually get their own way, they can't even get it right, with the final third unbearably melodramatic.
The producers of the film should be thankful at they managed to get Will Smith on board, as he is one of the few actors who can still open a distinctly average film. His initial portrayal as Hancock the drunk is different to many of the roles he normally takes on, and he delivers his put-downs beautifully, although he is mostly on auto-pilot. But like the rest of the film, the second half suffers, with too many emotions trying to be crammed into too few scenes. Also, his turn-around from drunken vigilante, to gleaming super-hero feels rushed and hollow.
Speaking of hollow, Jason Bateman's caring PR executive is a stretch of the imagination too far. Does director Peter Berg honestly expect the audience to believe money grabbing PR guys waste their time on the All-Heart charitable logo? Bateman pulls off the role well, but he does seem to be playing almost the exactly same character as he did in Juno earlier this year. Charlieze Theron is probably the biggest disappointment, with her character poorly directed by Berg. At the outset, there's an air of mystery about her, but by the time the twist in the film arrives, its more than obvious she was there to play more than `the wife'.
After so much promise in the first half, Hancock loses all momentum, and becomes another of the de-facto super-hero movies, but not as good as anything we're normally treated to.
[3.5]--Only Will Smith Could have Pull this Off September 10, 2008
Jenny J.J.I. (That Lives in Northern Nevada)
12 out of 18 found this review helpful
I don't know what others expect of this movie but I thought it was good! Will Smith rarely disappoints and 'Hancock' is certainly no exception. Is it because there is a great story but it's not necessarily a non-stop action flick? This movie delivers on so many fun levels and I think it is really balanced well. It's not perfect but perfection is quite rare. Regardless, this movie is fun entertainment.
Director Peter Berg, who last brought us The Kingdom, dip into with plenty of technology to bring us a man who can fly, possess incredible strength and being invulnerable to bullets. What I'd enjoyed about his take on this superhero movie, is that he didn't find a need to explain everything in verbatim, i.e. what are the powers he possess, where did he come from, and so on. sure they are addressed, but there's no need for putting it in your face, which I suspect lesser directors would have filmed flashbacks, origin subplots, enemies who are megalomaniacs who want to conquer the universe, and so on. They can be mentioned in passing, or a glance, or to let it work it out in your imagination, which of course is a powerful tool. And keeping it simple helped too, as I was really thrilled at how effective, and deceptively simple, its crescendo was developed, that it's tough to fight back tears as it goes for the juggernaut to reach out for your emotions.
Will Smith and Charlize Theron being their full spectrum of experience to the screen and definitely do not leave this film lacking in emotion. Hancock contains an even mix of comedy, romance, and action and fully delivers as an unorthodox action superhero film. The one annoyance to the film is Jason Bateman's similar acting style in Hancock to his character in Arrested Development. Though his acting is fitting for his role in Hancock, it is also very stereotypical for Bateman and comes of a bit irritating when the movie includes stills of Bateman's facial expressions that are identical to his expressions in Arrested Development.
Hancock is fun, anti-cliche movie with some crude elements to make people like me smile every now and then. Don't judge it as a masterpiece, because it never tried to be one in the first place.
In many ways, this ecological horror epic is one of the single nastiest and downright terrifying pieces of popular entertainment I've seen in ages. In others, it is an unfocused jumble that's too on the nose featuring stilted dialogue bordering on the Lucas-ian that's often times unintentionally hilarious. Overall, it leaves a decidedly sour taste in your mouth when all is said and done, yet the pieces that work do so with such amazing brilliance that much of the bitterness only lasts about the time it takes to get inside your car.
Amazingly disappointing August 6, 2008
Anna (London)
11 out of 20 found this review helpful
When you saw the trailers for this, what did you think? I. was. excited. I mean pee-my-pants-excited. Just thinking about it made me go "Eeeeee!" And the first 50 minutes or so absolutely delivers. In spades. And then it gets ridiculous, and crumples under the weight of its own mythological jumbledness.
Will Smith is typical Will Smith... I don't think it's possible to dislike that man. (Scientology scariness notwithstanding.) Jason Bateman is a joy - he's another one who can do no wrong. Charlize Theron... meh. Ya know? If you like her, she'll make you happy. If you're indifferent, she's definitely the weak link cast-wise because she's simply not believable as a god. She can pull off irritated housewife; raging deity, not so much. That being said, she doesn't actively damage the film.
No, that's all down to the plot. It loses itself when it tries to introduce a deep, wildly complex since-time-began mythology, and here it trips itself up. Completely. I mean, really, it just falls on its ass and thrashes around whining that it has fallen over and can't get up.
It also stops being funny. Truly, weren't you expecting a comedy? That's certainly how they portrayed it in the trailers - but it's really not one. It's like 2 films in 1. The first one lasts about 50 minutes, and it's awesome. The 2nd one starts afterwards, and it's shockingly bad. Bad enough to lose Hancock 3 of its stars.
I do think it's worth a watch, because some of the effects are remarkable, and the "first" movie is fab, but please go in knowing it's not what you expected it to be, and once the credits roll, you'll be left feeling a little bewildered and very, very disappointed.
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