Hancock (2008)

Peter Berg – Director

Vincent Ngo, Vince Gilligan - Writer

Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

Last night as we were watching Hancock, my roommate, kind of off the cuff, put a question to the viewing populace. If you could have a superpower, what would you want? And without hesitation, I was ready to go with not one, not a “well I think that maybe, I might want… but on the other hand…”, but rather my top 5. In order.  Shapeshifting-Teleportation-Super speed-Mind reading-Fire Power. Bam. Done. I then went on to further explain that one should have this sort of knowledge at their fingertips for when (not if, I distinctly said when) someone offers you a power and you have 4 seconds to decide and you need to be prepared. And 5 seconds later, with everyone staring at me, mouths agape that I had, basically unsolicited, offered this information up for the world, I was embarrassed.

So. Now that that little revelation is out of the way…. Hancock. Basic premise is that an apparent homeless person (Smith) has superpowers and also apparently alcoholism and a bit of a temper control problem. So while he does save people, he also causes LA millions in damage in the process. In an effort to turn his image around and become the superhero the city needs, he accepts the help of a publicist, Ray (Bateman). In the process he meets Ray’s sexy wife (shocker!) Mary played by Charlize Theron and realizes that *gasp* she’s a superhero too!

Well I’m not going to lie, I can’t say this was my favorite of all time.  And this from someone who has been known to watch Syfy original movies not just in the commercial breaks from FX or TBS (Mega Python vs. Gatoroid? Anyone?) The plot is kind of ridiculous. Not that there’re some superheroes roaming around the city with anger management issues. That I can get behind. But rather the premise that, for some undisclosed reason, when 2 superheroes (Mary and Hancock) get close together, they lose their powers becoming vulnerable mortals. And the explanation of “we were built in twos” does little to clear up the mystery. While all of that might be forgiven for a good performance out of our cast, Smith disappoints, reverting somewhat back to his cocky Wild Wild West, Men in Black persona. I had, in recent years, gotten on board the Will-Smith-as-legitimate-actor train and I was a little disappointed to see that his few comic moments (in which he can clearly shine) are overshadowed by someone’s need for him to play the cocky jerk. You can tell Jason Bateman was cast to be the levity, the comic relief, and yet his role gets paired down to mere background noise.

All in all, not the worst “watch it if it’s on” movie, but I wouldn't waste your time on a rental. The special effects and set design are pretty good, but nice visuals alone can’t carry a movie. Sorry.