Hancock is not your parent's super-hero. Hell he isn't even your super-hero. This film is a very interesting take on the super-hero genre; that I found both keen and refreshing.



The story follows John Hancock (Will Smith) a regular Joe with super human abilities and a complete lack of respect for...well respect. We discover that Hancock woke up in a hospital bed some 80 years ago after a crack in the noggin, shattered his skull. Miraculously his skull heals seemingly by itself, but he has a hard case of amnesia. Within a few hours of his regeneration he develops the powers that make him the Hancock of our time; a drunk, under-eager, destructive pinball that has fallen far out of the public's favor.



Will Smith delivers another dynamite performance. He completely becomes the character of John Hancock; a man who is not a man and is hopelessly alone in the crowded world. Smith is magnificent at snatching the essence of the character and making it his own. The lonely Hancock did not smile even once throughout the flick.







Hancock develops his first real relationship when he rescues quirky and pensive PR professional Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman). Embrey is on a quest to save the world, one donated product at a time. Embrey feels that he has stumbled on a feel-good gold mind when Hancock saves his life. Embrey steers his focus to reshaping the public image of the abject super-hero.





Bateman provides a dry comic relief to this sad story of a lonely man. His character helps mold Hancock into the kind of hero the public wants him to be. He takes baby-steps with Hancock, pushing him like no else would dare to.

Embrey's wife Mary, (Charlize Theron) has a very dark opinion of Hancock. She doesn't hide this either. We later learn that she has a little secret of her own, that both progresses the movie and puts an unforeseen twist on its outcome.

And of course as you can see from the picture below, Charlize Theron was smoking hot in this flick.


The movie carries an overall sense of grief and sadness, but it tries very hard to be funny. The first half was actually pretty entertaining. There were a few scenes that were over the top; but what a Will Smith Summer blockbuster be without that?

The second half careens to a much darker side and the turning point will be something you either like or really hate.

The film lacks a central arch nemesis that we normally find in this genre, instead it kind of portrays all the evil in the world as Hancock's villains. The few villains that they try to incorporate for a brief period feel forced. It almost felt as if they threw them in their just to have the feeling of a good vs. evil.

If your in the mood for a pretty decent movie, with really good acting and an interesting story; I would suggest checking this one out. It probably won't be what you expect, but it won't be terribly disappointing either.

I give this film an overall grade of: B

Great acting. Great idea. A little bit of a falter on the story and the portrayal of it.