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Hancock

Movie details

There are heroes, there are superheroes, and then there's Hancock. With great power comes great responsibility - everyone knows that, except Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic and misunderstood, Hancock's well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough - as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy.

Director Peter Berg

Stars Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron

Violence and coarse language

Our review

"Hancock" is a superhero movie that subverts the cliches of all those other superhero movies, satirising Hollywood's obsession with men who don fancy costumes and fly around cities fighting baddies.

At least, that's what the movie "Hancock" is in its first half: the second half is literally a completely different story.

When we first meet the eponymous hero (played by Will Smith, thankfully toning down his usual onscreen in-your-face-ness), he's half-passed-out on a park bench, too drunk to halt a crime without causing major collateral damage.

In fact causing damage is all Hancock is good at, and it's turned Los Angeles against him: the citizens hate this surly, alcoholic, unkempt loser even if he does occasionally save the day.

Then Hancock rescues Ray (Jason Bateman), a PR guru who's sure he can turn the public's perception of the superhero around. But though Ray brims with confidence, his beautiful wife Mary (Charlize Theron) remains hostile towards Hancock.

When Hancock realises that Ray's advice is actually working, the film reaches a nice place - and then it abruptly stalls, as if director Peter Berg realises he's run out of plot to sustain a 90-minute movie. To compensate, Berg and his screenwriters (Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan) throw in an outlandish twist that dilutes the storyline with complicated nonsense.

It's here that the fresh premise of "Hancock" turns into just another special-effects-laden, shoddily plotted superhero frenzy: there's dramatic fight scenes with no purpose other than to excite audiences, gaping plot holes that are barely glossed over, and limp anticlimax which will probably leave most moviegoers scratching their heads.

That said, "Hancock" is not a bad movie - Bateman (Arrested Development) puts his keen comic timing to superb use, and Smith's star power will surely draw in the crowds.

6/10

Samuel Downing