Not your typical superhero movie

Rating: 6/10 (7 July 2008)

Hancock had a good idea on making a superhero not so perfect. For the first 45 minutes or so it works, but then there is the surprise twist which didn't quite do it for me. On top of this there is no real strong villain to complement the hero. THe acting was pretty good, but otherwise this movie is just a little better than average.
Hancock (Will SMith) is a drunken superhero who is the total anti-thesis of your typical hero. He swears, insults people, and uses his powers in a destructive manner, but you can see that deep down he wants to help people and doesn't know the exact way to make himself look better in the eyes of the people. Enter Ray (Justin Bateman) as a PR guy who wants to change Hancock's image for the better. On top of this we have Ray's wife Mary (Charlize THeron) who we can tell by the way she acts around Hancock that they have some type of history together that Hancock is not sure of. I 'll go no farther into the plot, but I will say that with Ray's help, Hancock does change his image for the better, and near the end of the film starts becoming mortal for reasons I can not tell without spoiling the movie.
The acting is rather well done, but the special effects do not look as if 150 million was spent. I can accept cheesy special effects if the story works, but with Hancock the story never takes off because he has no real strong villain to face off against. The ending is rather weak, but the acting is well enough to carry it somewhat though not enough for me to recommend it.