Signing off on "Hancock"

Rating: 6/10 (6 July 2008)

Some movies are simply poor ideas put into practice and thus become movies we come to regard as "bad". Others are good ideas that are presented to the viewer and are often well-received. Then there's Peter Berg's "Hancock", the story of a boozing, loutish, seemingly un-superhero that falls somewhere in between the aforementioned categories.
Will Smith plays John Hancock, a superhuman with enhanced abilities in strength, invulnerability, and flight, who, though he tries to save Los Angeles from all sorts of crime, usually ends up costing the city millions of dollars in damages and endangering many people through his alcohol-induced carelessness. When the city's officials decide they have had enough, they issue a warrant for Hancock's arrest. At the behest of Ray (Jason Bateman), a publicist who has been saved by the "hero", Hancock enters a county jail to serve his time and prove that the city actually needs him. With Ray regularly consulting him on his public appearance and the city's crime rate rising at an astonishing 30 percent over a two week time span, Hancock emerges from jail by request of the captain of the LAPD to once again the city safe.
With these pieces set into place with plenty of humor sprinkled throughout the movie, I was convinced that critics were simply being stuck up in their reviews - true to form, many critics poorly rate movies they deem to be below them. However, the plot actually takes a turn for the worse in trying to trace the path of Hancock's origin and also build his romance with Ray's wife Mary, played by Charlize Theron. While the first half of the film had been very much enjoyable, the last half hour or so drags, with the comedy running sparse and the storyline running thin. In the end, "Hancock" is less likable due to it's poor execution in the second half, and I found myself in the same situation as many critics - disappointed.
And thus, I return to my initial point; "Hancock" is not bad idea for a film - in fact, it has the potential to work as a great action comedy - but it falls short of the expectations many would hold for it by falling somewhere in between "good" and "bad".