Hancock – old fashion or new wave hero? John Hancock (Will Smith) isn’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill superhero. He is an alcoholic, superhero with no memory of his past. In fact, so many people hate him that he needs a PR person to change his image. Situations never seem to work out for Hancock, despite the best of intentions. Imagine trying to save a beached-whale, flinging it back to safety only to have it land on a boat. His superhero strengths have none of the panache of Batman or Spiderman and he may not be effective and efficient, but he does the job.
Hancock’s luckiest day is when he saves, PR guy, Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) from sudden death on the train tracks. Even though the crowd jeers Hancock for the damage he causes, Embrey realizes that Hancock needs help and decides to take on the super-human challenge of improving Hancock’s public image. Do niceties such as “please” and “thank you” actually make a superhero? Probably not, but these are the skills that Embrey goes out of his way to reform in Hancock. Ray goes so far as to get Hancock out of his super-bum clothes into a sleek superhero outfit.
Partial Spoiler alert: The surprise in this movie comes when Hancock meets Embrey’s wife, Mary (Charlize Theron). We know that something is up given the deep penetrating stares and awkward moments during dinner. Since this is a big part of the film, however, I won’t go into any more spoilers here. I will warn you that the movie is unpredictable and will suddenly veer off course soon after Mary and Hancock meet.
The one good thing I liked about Hancock was the character being a different kind of hero. It wasn’t the super-clean, superhero story that we are used to. Hancock is a superhero with grit, literally.
Even though some people think of superhero films as suitable for kids or teens, Hancock is most certainly not unless you mind a little edginess, suggestive situations, disrespect for adults and a bit (actually a LOT) of foul language thrown in.
I would rate this movie a 3 out of 5 stars.
Rated: PG-13 – I’m a little surprised at the PG-13 rating given the violence, but there wasn’t much actual blood so I guess that’s what they go by. The language is mild compared to what I’ve hear from teenagers these days.
Director: Peter Berg
Runtime: 1 hr. 32 minutes
Released: Jun 16, 2008
Find Hancock on Amazon.com
Hancock
I viewed this movie on Netflix. The subscription to Netflix is paid with my own funds.
