Twist on superhero films

Rating: 7/10 (5 July 2008)

It makes a change from all those pumped up, perfect superheroes as the character of Hancock is drunken, ill-mannered and generally unpleasant in most aspects. The scenes with Will Smith playing his wisecracking best are the most memorable, although Jason Bateman is a good, solid support. The only thing I disliked is the way the film descended into schmaltzy territory in the latter part. In some respects I didn't care what happened to certain characters, it was just the typical Hollywood syrup ladled on. The plot weakened and the scriptwriters obviously thought lots of shoot em up action would compensate - and that's what lets Hancock down. Overall though, its a pretty good film compared to what's on at the moment.