Let me begin this review with the fact that this is not the movie that is advertised in the previews. The first 30 minutes, yes, the rest of the movie? Not so much. Secondly, despite the fact that it’s PG-13 and it’s about a ‘reluctant superhero’ – this is not a movie for little kids at all. In fact, I think 13 really does stretch the youngest age for the film. That said; let’s take a moment to talk about Hancock.
The Man
We meet Hancock and get to know him in the first 30 minutes of the film. He is exactly what you see in the previews. He is a drunkard. He’s mean. He’s rude. He does some thoughtless things and he ‘tries’ to save other people, but he’s really not that great at it. He doesn’t want to be a hero. He wants to be a schmuck and he’s miserable. All of this culminates with him saving a man’s (Jason Bateman) life that turns out to be in public relations. He advises Hancock to clean up his image and the best way to do that is to go to jail for his ‘actions and crimes’ and let the public feel the need to have Hancock back. And yes, there is a scene where it is obvious he shoves a one man’s head up another man’s rear. It’s tasteless and it’s tacky, but it’s in the movie.
Those first 30 minutes have some dark humor in it that may have you chuckling in spite of yourself and hang onto those chuckles because the rest of the film goes the way of the non-linear that tries to be too deep, but the writers literally got in the way of themselves. (SPOILERS AHEAD BE WARNED)
The Myth
If you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading now. That said, it turns out that Hancock is one of the last two ‘immortal’ beings that still exist. He thinks he’s the last one, but he’s not. Apparently Charlize Theron’s character, the wife of Jason Bateman’s character is also one. Whenever they are in close proximity to each other, they lose their powers, but not their immortality. Hancock also has amnesia, he’s had it for over 8 decades. So while he feels a connection to Theron’s character, he doesn’t ‘know’ her.
The conflict in this film is not at all external, it’s all internal. Will Smith is a brilliant choice for the part, but again, the writing really gets in the way of making this a stellar showing. It’s really unfortunate, too, because instead of walking out of the theater going ‘wow!’ – I walked out going ‘they contradicted themselves, what a great big crock!’
The Review
Maybe it’s me and maybe it’s the plethora of hero films out there, but I think this one could have been so much better than it was. They went for the cheap and the crass in the beginning, then dove off the edge into this non-linear plot that could have delivered a very effective and powerful movie, but failed in the execution because the scriptwriters either didn’t read their own movie or some continuity editor cut out scenes that may have lifted it above the average, meh, that I give it.
Parents, there’s a lot of violence in the movie and a lot of crash and bash and destruction. The climax of the film has a lot of collateral damage that will likely frighten young kids, so don’t think it’s a hesitant PG-13 on this one. (I’m actually kind of surprised they didn’t give it an R, but I think it just barely tucked in under the standards.)
I adore Will Smith and I’ve loved most of his movies, but this one could have easily waited for DVD and may even do better there if they make a director’s cut to fix all the plot questions. Have you seen Hancock? What did you think?
Other Hero Flicks:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer