Could have been a great film

Rating: 5/10 (18 July 2008)

I like Will Smith's films. They are not great, but they entertaining. They are a good way to spend 2 hours if you have nothing better to do. This movie is not. The main problem with this picture is the change of tone. The movie started out with potential, a flawed character with superpower who needs to change his ways to accept his true calling. I am not going to spoil anything, but you will notice, there is one scene by the middle of the film when the tone changes dramatically. It becomes from a light comedy with action to a sort of melodramatic Greek tragedy. By the third act I had no idea what was going on. I mean, they tried to put so much in the last half of the film that the film falls apart. The "villain" is terrible. He is poorly acted and he has no motives. The climax of the film is just a train wreck. I think this film could have been 500 times better if they would have added 20 minutes of explanation and more character development. The last half of the film just did not work because there were too many things happening at once. I have a friend that liked it because he compared to Greek tragedy and mythology, and then I compared it to Superman meets a romantic soap opera and starts crying because he just does not belong there. It had a lot of potential, but it just needed to be explained more thoroughly. Charlize Theron is really hot in this film though, and Jason Bateman plays on his Arrested Development character and makes him more complex and idealistic. The special effects are great of course, but that goes without saying in a big budget Will Smith movie. Something interesting that few people have commented about is the soundtrack. It was very explicit on what it was trying to convey in some scenes, it did not sublimate with the scene, it became a part of it because of its loudness. I liked it at first, normally superhero movies have the music in the background as to build for the climax of the scene, this one didn't. It was an interesting idea, was not great because sometimes it interrupted the scene, but it was OK. In the end, this film is not worth watching. If you want to watch Will Smith watch "I am Legend" with the alternate ending, or even "I am Robot". Those films are blockbusters that want to make you watch more of it. And if you are looking for a superhero movie in which the main character is an alcoholic, then go watch "Iron Man". I gave it a 5/10 because I was generous. The first half of the film deserves a 7 and the second a 4 or even 3. In the end, it was just a movie with potential that crashed by the end. Nothing more.