A Good Superhero and A Very Bad Superhero

Rating: 4/10 (27 June 2008)

I just saw an early screening of Hancock last night, so it's safe to assume the version I saw will be the closest to what will actually be on film. "Hancock" promotes itself to be a different type of superhero film, but by the end of the film, and especially by the last 30 minutes, it degrades into nothing more than a typical summer blockbuster cliché. The script does so many contrived turns that it becomes a little hard to believe, even for a summer superhero film. Here's the lowdown of what I think: The Good: - Will Smith is always golden as an actor. It really does become impossible to hate Hancock because Smith injects him with a certain level of charm; additionally, Charlize Theron at least adds a little bit of marginal tension; she's pretty easy on the eyes in all her movies, and this is no exception - The beginning action scene and another one in the middle of the film; since the film really doesn't have that great of a CGI job, the action scene really have to play up for humor; most of them are flat, but the beginning one where he chases a car on the freeway, and another one in the middle where he is engaged in a tug-of-war with another character (I won't say who) is pretty funny and engaging -AWESOME score. At times, the melodramatic nature of the film is saved by the fact that the score is really epic and sweeping; it's pretty easy to get lost in the film -A really funny scene in the film where a national pundit chews Hancock out; I'll let you see it to get the full laugh -A cool twist that happens 45 minutes into the movie that actually adds about 20 minutes of intrigue The Bad: - A load of contrivances that are really convenient. Like the Superman films, Hancock needs to make a lot of hard-to-believe turns. Hancock really does not pull it off well enough. - Bad CGI. Despite the $150 million price tag, the version I saw had a lot of unfinished or really bad-looking CGI - The cool twist. As good as it is, it takes a load of time to get to it, and whatever happens before it just feels like its treading a lot of water - A horrible third act. Don't be fooled by the trailers. It's a summer film; not a P.T. Anderson film. Of course it's going to end with a nice little bow on top. - Although Justin Bateman was a pretty fun character in Peter Berg's previous film "The Kingdom," he's pretty much dead weigh here. Don't get me wrong. I love him, but he feels necessitated by the plot and his character is really one-dimensional next to everyone else. - Dumber than dumb villains. Instead of giving Hancock a strong antagonist, they rely on a couple of prison hoodlums and common crooks to fight Hancock. Without a really good central villain, there is never much worry that Hancock will be challenged against these guys. - Cheesier than Cheddar ending. The ending is so vomitingly saccharine (with horrible CGI) that I really have to call the filmmakers out on this. So, by the end of the film, I just thought "Hancock" was superficially entertaining with only a few moments of truly redeemable good times. Like most of Will Smith's films, it's a great idea. It just wasn't executed very well.