Hancock

You know those movies that you really want to love, but something keeps on holding you back? Hancock is that kind of movie. Director Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights) obviously had a lot of ideas when he put this thing together. Some of them are clever, some intriguing, and many are quite involving. But the movie doesn't spend enough time with them. Its 92 minute running time and rushed climax seem to hint at a film that went deeper into its own ideas before studio interference got in the way and hacked this project to bits. There was also a well-publicized dispute with the MPAA to get Hancock a desired PG-13 rating instead of an R. What did end up on the screen is a bit of a conceptual mess, but one that can be entertaining from time to time.

Hancock attempts to put a superhero in a real world situation and answer the question, just how do they deal with all the public damage they cause when chasing after the bad guys? It's a question that's been asked before (most notably in Pixar's The Incredibles), but the filmmakers here obviously want to put a somewhat edgier spin on it. John Hancock (Will Smith) may have the ability to fly, be impervious to bullets and pain, and possess super strength, but you get the sense that the guy stopped caring a long time ago. He dresses like a homeless street person, he lives in a run down trailer, he's an alcoholic, and the fact that he usually causes more damage than the bad guys he helps capture has not really won him a lot of fans in the community he's trying to protect. In the film's opening sequence, he winds up destroying large parts of a L.A. freeway in the process of capturing some gun-toting thugs caught in a police chase. The California law division has had enough of Hancock's "help", and is screaming for the guy to serve some prison time for the massive amount of property damage he's caused in his drunken attempts at heroics.

When he saves the life of a struggling Public Relations guy named Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), Ray sees a chance to make a name for himself by improving Hancock's public image. He wants to clean him up, wear some proper superhero attire, work with the police instead of against them, and generally make the citizens realize how much they really need Hancock. If that means Hancock needs to spend some time in prison and out of the public eye, so be it. Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), doesn't like the idea from the start, and generally seems against letting Hancock into their lives. And yet, we can tell immediately by the way she looks at Hancock every time that they're together that she's hiding something, and may have some past connection with the hero. Hancock's suffering from amnesia you see, and doesn't remember his real identity, or how he got his powers. The answers, when they are finally revealed to us, seem rushed and that right there is the biggest problem of the film.

If there was a good visual representation of Hancock the film, it would be the early scene where Will Smith is swerving wildly back and forth as he attempts to fly in a drunken stupor after a fleeing vehicle. This is a movie that is constantly swerving about, switching gears and tones, and does so at a moment's notice. Sometimes it wants to be a foul-mouthed and raunchy parody of comic book movies in general. Sometimes it wants to be a heartfelt and sentimental look at a man who has lost faith in himself, and has to learn to let go of his own personal demons. This is a movie built of two parts, one more successful than the other. The part that works deals with Hancock as an anti-hero. The film is a lot of fun here, has some inventive moments, and a lot of genuine laughs. Will Smith is obviously having a blast playing against type here, and it shows. But when the movie starts to slow down and reveal Hancock's origins, along with Mary's true role in the story, things suddenly turn disjointed and sloppy. The film tries to fit too much in too little amount of time. It feels like a lot has been left on the cutting room floor, and it ends up being very unfulfilling. Of special note is the film's climax, which is a total mess as it tries to cram drama, tragedy, laughs, and heart-lifting sentiment into one five or six minute sequence. It's a total conceptual nightmare, and seems to be changing pace and tone every minute.

Another problem with Hancock is that a true villain is never really put in place. The closest we get is a thug named Red (Eddie Marsen), who has a grudge against Hancock. The character is never properly introduced as the main antagonist. He just shows up so a grudge can be established, and then kind of becomes the villain by default. A hero like Hancock needs a real threat. Someone who can match him in his abilities, or at least come across as a genuine danger. In any other superhero movie, Red would just be a lackey of the main villain, and probably would have been dispatched fairly quickly. Trying to shoehorn him in as the lead doesn't work at all. It's another case of how this movie starts to go wrong during its weaker second half. It keeps on throwing ideas at us, but doesn't take the time to develop them. All we're left with are a couple intriguing hints, and a wish that the filmmakers didn't try to fit so much into the final 25 minutes or so.

It's a credit to the performers that the film still entertains in some way, even when the narrative starts breaking down. Will Smith does a great job at handling the different aspects of his character. He plays Hancock as someone who used to be good and do good, but has obviously long stopped even giving a damn. He makes it so that we want to see Hancock improve himself, almost as much as the character of Ray does. Part of this is because Smith is an immediately likable actor, and part of this is because of his performance. Jason Bateman gets some laughs as a guy who is trying to deal with this situation he has gotten himself into, and trying to deal with a superhero who just doesn't care anymore. He's obviously frustrated many times with his latest "client", but also knows what improving Hancock's image could do for his career. If there is a misstep, it's perhaps Charlize Theron, and it's not even her fault. We know right away that casting a name like hers, she's not going to be just an ordinary housewife standing in the background. And the way the movie plays up her constantly looking at Hancock is also a misstep, since it hints at an obvious connection. A lesser known actor in the role and some more subtlety on director Berg's part would have made her role a bit more unassuming.

In a summer that has already given us some strong superhero entries like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, Hancock is definitely at the bottom of the quality pole, but it's not even a bad movie to begin with. It's simply one that's been messed around with a bit too much in order to be a crowd pleaser. This is the kind of movie that you can definitely see working if people had left it alone, or if it had been more sure of what it was trying to be. Much like the character its named after, Hancock seems unsure of what it really is, and though it ultimately winds up dragging it down a little, there are still moments where the movie does take flight. A couple moments more, and they would have really had something here.

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