A fun ride

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2008)

Like death, taxes, and a summer blockbuster season featuring a Will Smith vehicle, some things in life are inevitable. It's 2008, and the year's high water mark for big-budget Hollywood releases, and Hancock is the Fresh Prince's film de jour. Before you start rolling your eyes, however, there's something you must know about this release. it's damn good! In fact, given the story behind the making of this movie, such praise is somewhat surprising.
Originally penned by Vincent Ngo back in 1996, the screenplay passed through the hands of various directors, including Tony Scott and Michael Mann (Mann stayed on in the capacity of Producer), and went through a number of cuts to both conform to cinema ratings and tweak the story after test screenings, the latter rarely being a good omen. Which makes it all the more surprising that Hancock out-Supers Superman, out-X's X-Men, out-smarts the Hulk (no great achievement there).I could go on but you get the picture. Hancock is the superhero flick that summer popcorn movies aspire to. And, it does it with attitude and laughs to boot.
Smith plays John Hancock, a drunken drifter who possesses many of the same powers as Superman. He can fly, bullets bounce off him, he has super strength, is faster than a speeding bullet, and, oh yeah, he's an asshole (but don't call him that). Basically he's what Superman would be if he was a booze swilling, hungover, homeless person who wouldn't think twice about ramming your head up your arse if you so much as looked at him cock-eyed.
His crime fighting antics (when he's up to it) haven't endeared him to Los Angeles authorities either, seeing how he has a penchant for widespread property damage whenever he goes into action. All of which serves as a problem which needs to be fixed, and that's where PR wiz Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) comes into play, offering to try and rehabilitate Hancock's public image after the hero rescues him from near death.
Directed by Peter Berg (The Kingdom), the movie deftly mixes comedic and action moments in a refreshingly even blend, and its story is peppered with enough origin references to lay the groundwork for prequels and sequels, of which you can be sure there will be several. Basically they've created a fully-realized movie franchise without the luxury of a long line of comics or graphic novels to lay the groundwork.
If there's one flaw to Hancock (the movie, not the character), it's that it lacks a credible super villain, someone who can really give him a run for his money. Sure it has the cookie-cutter bad guy, but he's really nothing more than a thug with a gun, and no real match for our hero. He's basically a moron's Lex Luthor, without any aces (or anything else) up his sleeve, and an action movie built around a virtually invincible superhero needs a foil of at least credible strength.
Nonetheless, the acting, pacing, story and special effects all compensate for this weakness, making Hancock a fun ride. Just don't ever call him an asshole.