Undercooked

Rating: 5/10 (7 July 2008)

A very good idea sadly undercooked. Rushed and thoughtless but with hints at what it might have been. All of that makes the experience a rather frustrating one. Will Smith is, without question, one of the best actors around and as Hancock, he uses every tiny opportunity to make the whole ludicrous thing almost palatable. When the camera is on him we feel the potential. There is a human being there in an impossible situation. Peter Berg, the director, lets his eye move around as if under the effect of a very powerful drug. Massive, nervous close ups in a story that tries to be missing the point at almost every corner. The actors are photographed harshly showing every skin imperfection even on the wonderful Charlize Theron. I wonder if that was on purpose. In fact that's what I wonder about the whole enterprise. Was it on purpose? Was the thoughtlessness part of the plan? If so, I don't get it.