A clumsy superhero with a drinking problem and a ‘don’t know don’t care’ attitude bumps in to buildings, wrecks billboards and roads in the name of protecting the innocent!
If Superman is suppose to be so smart, why does he wear his underwear over his suit? We’ve all heard that one but it was a dream come true to FINALLY see a super hero movie that a. was not a spoof or a parody and b. was as comical treat. You don’t get a treat like that very often these days I tell ya!
Enter Hancock (Will Smith), our irresponsible and alcoholic superhero who doesn’t give a damn about how the job needs to be done, as long as it is done. It was amusing to see a super hero ‘flying under the influence’ (FUI – that’s a first!), chipping off huge blocks of buildings with his erratic moves and the one where he saves a whale washed ashore by tossing it back in to the sea only to land on a ship and sink it was just too good. The movie is a perfect mix of humor and entertainment, at least till the midway point that is. Let me come to that in a while.
So the people of the city are fed up with Hancock. He’s known for causing more damage than setting things right and it’s taking it’s toll on the city to the point that a warrant is issued for his arrest. During this ordeal, Hancock saves Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), a PR Executive, from being run over by a train by flipping his car off the tracks, only to land on top of 
another. Hilarious as one of the on-lookers points out to him, ‘Why didn’t you just lift it (the car) up in the air?’ Hancock is boo-ed by the crowds but Ray sees something special and hidden in Hancock and decides to improve his ‘image’. Hancock resists initially but later decides to go on with Ray although at this point it is not confirmed whether it is because he actually wants to improve his image or is it because of Ray’s wife, Marry (Charlize Theron), to whom he feels a strange attraction that goes both ways.
The concept is great. Take a selfish, arrogant, and careless super hero and transform him in to a caring and responsible protector of the people. And it was great to see an improved and refined Hancock back in action once he’s done with rehab and some jail time. His new super hero suit though was a disappointment. It seemed a dramatic copy of the X Men and had me wondering if that was intentional. After all, the only super hero I can think of with the same level of arrogance as Hancock is Wolverine. But then again, Hancock beats Wolverine fair and square when it comes to being selfish. Oh Hancock is SELFISH! You bet!
The movie flies high for the first half. Great action, good dialogue, enough funny moments, and questions like ‘why is he so arrogant’ or ‘is he from another planet like superman or got his powers from some nuclear radiation leak’ keeps you entertained and excited. Come second half and Hancock literally crashes and obliterates. A secret is revealed that changes the course of the movie and also the strong pull of the first half. Not to be rude but the second half sucked and the explanations offered were just stupid: ‘you get too 
close and you lose your powers’. Come one now! The flow was lost and the plot turns absurdly illogical from then on. Hancock keeps losing, then gaining, then losing his powers upon close proximity of a certain being but that happens ONLY after the secret is revealed. Why not before? Sheer nonsense. The lack of a genuine ‘cherry on the top’ is obvious. Also lacking is the presence of a super badie. All through the movie, Hancock is seen fighting common thugs and, occasionally, shoving heads up other people’s ass (yes literally I mean). The climax also involves a peachy fellow with a ‘captain hook’ disposition getting the obvious treatment. That could have been improved really. It starts out really well and ends in a confusing mess that left me blank-faced.
Still, if you can get over the absurdities thrown at you in the second half and can do with the lack of a super villain, then you will enjoy the movie. I did too but the whole package just didn’t do for me. The duration was appropriate but the plot had serious flaws and the ending seemed rushed. Had the movie been about Hancock himself without bringing in anyone else to share the limelight, I might have been harping a different tune.
Movielicious Ratings: [6.5/10]
View Hancock Trailer
