Okay, but a mixed bag.

Rating: 6/10 (24 July 2008)

John Hancock is not your normal superhero. He's a drunk, hated by everyone for the damage he causes and is being sued. However, when he rescues PR man Ray Embrey, Embrey takes it upon himself to make Hancock popular with the population, despite resistance from Hancock himself, and Ray's wife Mary...
Hancock has an interesting idea but the problem with it, is it can't sustain the entire movie. Partly this is also due to the fact that the part of heroes being unpopular with the people, and being sued for the damage, was better used in the Pixar movie, The Incredibles. So the idea doesn't quite carry the movie. As a result, a second plot thread is introduced. I won't reveal it here, but when it happens, you get the feeling the filmmakers needed something to keep the movie moving, but it's too contrived and doesn't really work, and is also never really resolved.
Hancock's other main fault is that the so-called villains of the movie, aren't really that threatening. So any dramatic edge is lost in the climax of the movie. What also doesn't help is that it can't decide on what it is. The first half of the movie is pretty funny. The second half more dramatic. It's like they changed their minds about what kind of movie they were making halfway through.
But it's not a total loss. Thanks to excellent performances from Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron and helped by an okay script from Vince Gillian and Vincent Ngo it is funny (especially in the first half of the movie). And director Peter Berg does well with the material.
The visuals are pretty good, if not spectacular, and the movie runs at a good pace. I just wish they could have decided which way to take it.
Is it a comedy? A summer action movie? Superhero spoof? By trying to be all things, it ends up being a bit confused, and it suffers as a result.