Popcorn Bucket Reviews - Hancock

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2008)

Hancock was the highly anticipated Will Smith superhero movie about a super who's not really quite the hero. It was Will's 8th blockbuster film in a row, making him the only actor in history to achieve such a feat. The trailer was hilarious, it was visually astounding, and it stirred up quite a buzz. So how was the movie?
Story: 5/5 Buckets Of Popcorn
Hancock is the story of a single man on Earth with superhuman powers but not the super hero mentality. He rises to the needs of the public, but not nearly as gracefully as, say, Spider-Man or even The Incredible Hulk.
With alcoholic tendencies, a general disregard for public property, Hancock serves as the ultimate conundrum: he saves the day, but causes millions in damage; he helps uphold the law, all while breaking it at the same time. The cops want him arrested, but how do you capture a super hero?
Well I'll try to not to divulge too much of the movie, because it's quite good really. But suffice it to say that this problem is creatively overcome by Hancock happening across a public relations manager (Jason Bateman) whose wife (Charlize Theron) doesn't approve of the hapless hero being around.
Bateman suggests that Will turn himself in to clean up his public image so that he won't be hated everywhere he goes, he does some time in jail until the police chief calls in for his help, and Hancock saves the day in a mass of broken glass, bullets, and explosions.
Ordinarily, this would only warrant a few Popcorn Buckets, but I didn't tell you about the second half, which is awesome and earns the story a full 5 Buckets Of Popcorn out of 5.
Acting: 4/5 Buckets Of Popcorn
If you've been paying attention to the film world at all, you'd know that this cast is renowned for its on screen presence. Jason Bateman's Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning, Carlize Theron is an Academy Award winner, and Will Smith has gotten better with age like a good bottle of wine. Earning 2 Oscar nods, Will has shown growth like no other since his 2004 blockbuster I, Robot into the charming, mature actor he is today.
In the movie, Bateman plays the perfect regular human buddy of the hero, torn between his appreciation and gratitude toward Hancock for saving his life and his wife who has little but contempt for him.
Charlize gives another fantastically convincing performance as the bitter, cautious wife of Bateman, which really comes to life in the second half of the movie...which I'm not telling you about.
Will shows us a side of him that we rarely get to see as the gritty, uncaring ne'er-do-well that Hancock is. He is still true to his comedic stylings that made us all love The Fresh Prince from the beginning, but he comes with the acting chops that got him nominated in Pursuit Of Happiness.
This movie really does ride more on its special effects and great story, but the performances and subtle nuances and mannerisms that these three bring to the movie earn Hancock 4 out of 5 Buckets Of Popcorn.
Entertainment: 5/5 Buckets Of Popcorn
Entertainment?! This movie's got it in spades! From beginning to end, this is good old fashioned fun, the way that Will Smith's always done it. I mean, come on, it's a super hero movie. If it wasn't entertaining, it would've totally missed the mark.
The movie starts off with Hancock hilariously sleeping on a park bench, hung-over from liquor consumption, and being called to duty by a little boy. To start his heroics off right, he dashes off into the sky, destroying the park bench and sidewalk where he took off from.
He zooms through the Los Angeles skies, smashing through highway signs, destroying the road, and ultimately impaling the SUV of the bad guys on the steeple of the Met-Life building. This scene's got everything entertainment requires: hilarious dialogue, gunfire, invincibility, flying, destruction, and the ultimate ridiculous scenario of a truck hanging from the top of a building.
As the movie continues along, the hilarity tones down a bit form the high comedy to a more tame (save for one jailhouse scene), becoming more focused on the story and the special effects that make this movie so much fun.
Again, in the second half that I'm not going to talk about here, the movie shifts into high gear, resulting in one of the more entertaining movies of this decade. 5 out of 5 Buckets Of Popcorn.
Movie Magic: 4/5 Buckets Of Popcorn
Sticking to the formula that first made him a star in Independence Day, continued his success in Men In Black, shined through in I, Robot, and most of his other movies, Will has created another summer blockbuster with amazing special effects.
From flying, to explosions, to wind storms, throwing a whale across a beach, and all the other supernatural feats that take place, this movie delivers up a heavy batch of movie magic that you won't soon forget.
It's not the same spaceship battles, blowing up cities effects you get in ID4, but they definitely know how to sell a movie with some CGI. For that, Hancock receives 4 out of 5 Buckets Of Popcorn.
Overall Score: 4.5/5 Buckets Of Popcorn - At Least My 2nd Favorite Will Smith Movie
Please visit http://www.celebsystem.com for more Popcorn Bucket Reviews.