Hancock [2008] - DVD (Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman - Dir: Peter Berg)

Hancock turns the standard superhero movie inside-out. The titular character, played by Will Smith, can fly, has super strength and is invulnerable. But he's also a sloppy, arrogant alcoholic who causes millions of dollars in property damage whenever he bothers to fight crime. When he saves the life of a PR agent named Ray (Jason Bateman, Arrested Development), Ray decides to improve Hancock's image--starting by having Hancock surrender himself to the authorities and go to prison for his lawless behaviour. The idea is that once he's in prison, the crime rate will go up and people will start realising Hancock might be of value after all. This is only the first act of Hancock though--from there, the film takes several surprising turns that shouldn't be revealed. Hancock isn't a great movie, but it is an extremely entertaining one. The script, which holds together far better than most superhero movies, has a propulsive plot, good dialogue, some compassion for its characters, and even an actual idea or two. The spectacular action at least gestures towards obeying the laws of physics, which actually makes the special effects more vivid. The three leads (Smith, Bateman, and Charlize Theron as Ray's wife, Mary) deftly balance the movie's mixture of comedy, action, and drama. All in all, a smart subversive twist on a genre that all too often takes itself all too seriously. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews of Hancock [2008]

Avid reader and published writer
Derbyshire, UK
1st December 2008

Oh. Dear.
After I Am Legend (disappointing), I was hoping for a good Will Smith film. Unfortunately, I didn't get my wish. I like superhero movies, generally, but Hancock is mediocre.

John Hancock is a depressed alcoholic superhero. He's still doing his job, but in the process of saving lives he's also costing Los Angeles millions of dollars in repairs. For this reason, the public do not like him and are getting to the stage where they wish he'd leave and go 'save' another city. Things change, though, when Hancock saves the life of super-duper PR guy Ray Embrey. Realising that Hancock is a good guy underneath it all, he decides to help him by changing his image and have the public love him once more.

However, things aren't quite that clear cut. From their first meeting, it's obvious that Ray's wife Mary hates Hancock. She tries to talk her husband out of helping him, emphasising that he's a lost cause and isn't worth the trouble. It soon becomes clear, though, that Mary has good reason to want to keep her distance from John Hancock...

This film did nothing for me. There were a few half-hearted laughs, but I thought the characters were flat throughout, and even the 'twist' in the tale came in too late. By that point, I was just hoping there wasn't much more left to watch. There was nothing clever or exciting about Hancock, it was just silly. Even if you're heavily into superhero films and Will Smith - I still wouldn't bother.

Sophie
Dorset, UK
29th November 2008

Not what I expected....
When I saw the adverts for this film I assumed it was just like any other comedy - I was half right.
It was like someone wrote one half of the film and left someone more serious to right the other. I'm not trying to say it's bad, just a little strange. The first half was very funny but the other half of the film, the jokes which were made were getting fewer and fewer, until the end where it was all really serious.
The first half of the film I give it 5 stars without a doubt.
The second half, I give it 3 stars.
So overall 4 stars!
I'll hope you enjoy this film like I did!

A reader
London
25th November 2008

Cocksure
The first hour of this movie is a brilliantly enjoyable antidote to superhero movies. Will Smith is excellent as a drunken, dysfunctional superman whose feats of heroism wreak havoc on Los Angeles, alienating him from the public and making him even more dysfunctional. Jason Bateman steps in as a down-on-his-luck PR guru and attempts to guide Hancock through a moral makeover. It's all extremely inventive, reaching a climax at a stunning twist involving Bateman's wife, Charlize Theron. But after that the movie becomes more conventional and less sure of itself, though it has enough momentum to carry you to the end, albeit with a slight sense of disappointment.

Dean C. Farrar

19th November 2008

RIP OFF !!!
ok bascily hollywoods makeing all these ironman,the hulk,hellboy etc etc comic book hero films


so they go i no lets get a famous actor to make up a complete random pointless hero and make are own super hero


so they created Hancock its just so dumb

they just wanted some limelight in the time of the super hero films

hancock sucks

ether that or they wanted a black super hero

if they did want a black super hero they should of made another spawn film

barnie884
Netherlands
18th November 2008

Not your standard superhero movie
I had no idea what to expect from this movie, but the trailers looked interesting. This movie is an interesting angle, making a superhero with all too human floors. What you should not expect is a Marvel or DC comics movie, probably much more of an all American feelgood movie. Will Smith gives a good performance as our misguided superhero with a good supporting cast and good effects, makes for a nice easy watching movie.