Believe the reviews ... this is not a good movie

Rating: Null/10 (5 July 2008)

I like Will Smith as an actor. I like sci-fi movies. I even like the cool trailer for this movie ... so I thought this film couldn't be too bad. Well, it actually was pretty bad. Among the most annoying things were: poor visual quality, unlikeable characters and a bad story.
The "idea" behind this movie sounds great: a reckless and drunk superhero with unknown origin is inspired to turn himself around. In the process, he learns that he is not the only one of his kind in the world ... and the story progresses from there.
This could have been a really original (and humorous) story. However, it falls apart very quickly. The first sign that something was wrong was the visual feel: much of the movie had kind of a dull lighting and contrast. It reminded me of movies of the 1970s. In fact, many of the outfits even had a dated look. It all felt very awkward.
Another problem was that the characters are pretty annoying. It's a given that Will Smith's character should be unlikeable at the start - but the film fails to ever make him pleasant. The other main character, his "good guy" PR agent, comes across as both intellectually challenged and wimpy as a husband, so it's hard to feel anything for him. Lastly, Charlize Theron's character is no more respectable or likable than the other two.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the movie is the story. It sounds good in principal, but when you see how it is fully imagined (executed), it's painful to watch. The story starts out OK but then it degenerates into a love-triangle quagmire with characters that are hard to root for. It's just not interesting.
Will Smith is a very talented actor; he's generally interesting to watch no matter what movie he's in. However, with so many Will Smith fans writing scathing reviews, my advice is simple: trust them. This is a bad movie - enjoy the trailer but skip the movie.