Don't ever call him an A.H.!

Rating: 6/10 (31 August 2009)

Hancock is a slovenly clad man who is into drinking and shows that even though he saves people facing precarious situations, he is an angry man. The worse offense, as far as Hancock is concerned, appears to be calling him a nasty epithet; that will turn this homeless man into a rage. Hancock causes a lot of damage as he go exercising his good deeds.
When Ray Embry gets stuck on a crossing rail track, Hancock gets him out of his predicament, and a sure death. Ray is a man working for a P.R. firm who wants to thank the man that saved him by changing his image. After all, he is a genius doing what he does best. But there is a problem in this whole proposition, the moment Ray brings him home for a meal, his wife Mary takes an absolute dislike to her husband's guest.
The secret of the animosity between Mary and Hancock is revealed in the last part of the story. It comes as no horrible surprise to the viewer by then since we are all guessing what the secret was about.
"Hancock" directed by Peter Berg, with a screenplay by Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan, is fun at times, but the story is too far fetched to really make the viewer care for this type of confused anti-hero. We don't believe for a moment when we learn about Hancock's past.
Will Smith is bigger than life in his take of the comic-like hero. He has done much better in action films before. This one will not be one of his most accomplished times in front of the camera. Charlize Theron does what she can to bring her Mary Embry to life. Best of all is Jason Bateman, an actor that gets better with each new film in which he appears.
Of course any Will Smith vehicle is marked by fantastic special effects, and this one is no different. Colby Chamian and Francine Maisier's editing works wonders for the film. We can see in cameo roles the director, as well as some of the producers, Akiva Goldsman and Michael Mann appear as members of the board that Embry is addressing at the start of the film.