A different kind of superhero film.

Rating: 5/10 (3 March 2011)

Hancock is set in Los Angeles where John Hancock (Will Smith) lives as a powerful superhero fighting crime, he can fly & is invincible to all injury. However the residents of LOs Angeles dislike Hancock because of the vast amounts of damage he causes & lack of modesty, feeling alone, unwanted & unappreciated Hancock has slipped into alcoholism & depression. Hanacock saves public relations man Ray Emrey (Jason Bateman) from being hit by an oncoming train & as thanks Ray invites Hancock to his home for dinner, Hancock agrees & meets Ray's wife Mary (Charlize Theron). Ray suggests to Hancock that he needs an image makeover to make him more appealing to the public & when Hancock is branded a public menace & an arrest warrant is issued Ray feels it would be a perfect opportunity to turn Hancock's lowly image around by giving himself up in order for the authorities & public to realise how much they need him when he is not there...
Directed by Peter Berg this romantic fantasy film is an alternative on the recent spate of superhero/comic book hero films that been released over the past few years, while a few of the ideas & set-pieces in Hancock are fun & as a whole it's a watchable film I wouldn't call it anything other than watchable. Available in both it's original theatrical version & an extended 'Unrated' cut that runs about nine minutes longer I will be basing my comments on this shorter theatrical version. The one thing about Hancock that puzzles is the uneven tone as it can't quite decide what it wants to be, does it want to be an all out slapstick comedy or a serious superhero film that deals with real issues or a tragic romance? Aspects of all three are here all mixed together in a very uncertain manner, the first half of Hancock is far more enjoyable than the second with Hancock a depressed hard drinking superhero who gets a rough ride from those he seeks to protect while the second half of the film introduces this huge twist that comes from nowhere. I didn't think the twist worked that well to be honest & it just gets sillier & sillier in this sort of fantasy romance that turns to tragedy that as expected gets a nice happy Hollywood ending anyway. While amusing at tims Hancock is never that funny with the gags & jokes feeling flat, while some of the action scenes are cool it never excites that much because of the silly tone & the romance between Hancock & his sibling has no emotional impact & feels like it's there to stretch the running time out a bit. The lack of any significant enemy or super-villain for Hancock doesn't help either & the film feels a bit empty as a result. No explanation is given for Hancock's origin & any serious issue the script tries to raise like prejudice & racism have little impact. At about 90 minutes long at least it's fairly short, the pace is good & Hancock certainly isn't boring but as I said, it just sort of passes the time rather than enthrals or really engages.
As expected from such a big budget Hollywood blockbuster there are loads of CGI computer effects sequences here, from car chases to tornado's to people flying to general mayhem & destruction. The effects are good, you can see that they are just CGI effects but they look alright & obviously a lot of money was spent on them. Apparently conceived as a much darker film the tone was made much lighter for a family summer release which maybe explains the uneven mix of silliness & seriousness.
With a supposed budget of about $150,000,000 this has to be one of the biggest budget films ever made, there are plenty of effects for sure & lots of visual trickery I suppose. The acting is alright but it's odd seeing Will Smith as a rude & rather ordinary person rather the quick fire one-line spouting charmer her usually is.
Hancock is a decent enough film, sure the tone is uneven & I am unsure about the giant twist but it entertains & is quite fun in it's own absurd way. You could do a lot worse that's far sure, worth a watch if nothing else.