BLOGS
Let's get this out of the way: Hancock is not a great movie. It has all of the makings of one: a terrific cast, a pretty brilliant concept, and loads of ambition. But it never rises too far above any other summer action flick.
There are some truly excellent things about the movie, though:
- Will Smith is a surprise in his willingness to upend his clean-cut, good-guy image -- while playing a superhero, no less. He embraces and seems to utterly enjoy playing a character who, let's face it, is a jackass. He's drunken, disorderly, disagreeable, and mean to kids. And that's just the first five minutes.
- It's really funny. From Jason Bateman's usual dry delivery to Will Smith's rowdy antics, the comedy will certainly keep audiences entertained.
- It's a superhero movie in which -- without giving too much away -- the title character's most heroic acts are entirely human. Sure, he can step in front of a train speeding toward a stalled car or easily end a dangerous hostage situation. But the noblest things he does in the movie are when he puts the happiness of others before his own in a big way.
- It will surprise you. In an age when so few movie scripts come up with anything resembling an original thought, it's nice to get a movie that is not only something you haven't seen a million times before, but also has the ability to draw genuine gasps from the audience.
With all these things going for it, Hancock should have been the best movie of the summer, right? Well, its fatal flaw is that it set the bar too high, and failed to meet its own lofty expectations.
The movie tries to be too many things, and so never settles on what it most wants to be. Is it an action-packed superhero movie carried by a marquee star? A hilarious buddy film, a la Lethal Weapon? Or something deeper and more meaningful than either of those?
The problem is that it has elements of all three, and even more, and never commits fully to any of them.
In other words: If you're looking for next year's Oscar contenders, this probably won't be a movie you'll rush out to see. But if you're looking for something to keep you entertained for a couple hours, Hancock should definitely make your short list.
Add a comment
Search thousands of recaps and more
BLOG ARCHIVES
The Moviefile
October 2009
16 Entries
September 2009
30 Entries
August 2009
28 Entries
July 2009
34 Entries
June 2009
27 Entries
May 2009
24 Entries
April 2009
23 Entries
March 2009
18 Entries
February 2009
30 Entries
January 2009
56 Entries
December 2008
51 Entries
November 2008
61 Entries
October 2008
102 Entries
September 2008
86 Entries
August 2008
99 Entries
July 2008
116 Entries
June 2008
95 Entries
May 2008
86 Entries
April 2008
67 Entries
March 2008
14 Entries
Blog Categories
A Festival for the Rest...ival
14 Entries
Accidents Do Happen
42 Entries
Adventures in Fakery
52 Entries
Animation Desensitization
51 Entries
Box Office Tally
55 Entries
Coming Soonish
6 Entries
Cool Nerds Guide
2 Entries
Director? I Hardly Knew Her!
122 Entries
DVDs Unwrapped
22 Entries
For Your Amusement (Park)
7 Entries
Foreign Relations
31 Entries
Galleries (and Other Picture Postcards)
21 Entries
Girls on Film
47 Entries
I Voted for GORE!
74 Entries
I Want My DVD
49 Entries
I've Got Two Tickets to Merchandise
32 Entries
Indie, Indie, Come Back Home
4 Entries
It Came From New York
4 Entries
It Came From San Diego
11 Entries
It's a Major Award!
38 Entries
Legal Eaglese
18 Entries
Let's Blame the Media!
47 Entries
Let's Go To The Video!
26 Entries
Letterbox of Recommendations
9 Entries
Lights, Camera... Action Jackson!
87 Entries
Little TV Shows That Done Hit the Big Time
61 Entries
Martial Artistry
5 Entries
Momentous Occasions
22 Entries
More On Movies
0 Entries
Musicalifornication
34 Entries
Obituaries Without Pity
19 Entries
Oscars and Grouchery
6 Entries
Pros and Controversy
15 Entries
Reviews of Movies We Haven't Seen Yet
25 Entries
Reviews of Movies We've Actually Seen
73 Entries
Scary Monsters & Super Creeps
42 Entries
Sci-Fidelity
90 Entries
Script From the Headlines!
53 Entries
Separate but Sequel
190 Entries
Strike Watch
14 Entries
Stupid Cinematic Celebrity Sayings
33 Entries
Taste the Reading Rainbow
68 Entries
The Art of the Cannes
6 Entries
The Biz
114 Entries
The Casting Conch
165 Entries
The History, Booooyyyyy!
59 Entries
The Kongs of Comedy
124 Entries
Theatre With an "R" and an "E"
9 Entries
Top of the
0 Entries
Top of the MWoP
4 Entries
Trailer Trashing
53 Entries
Trailers Without Pity
20 Entries
Video Games Killed the Movie Star
20 Entries
We Call Do-Over
142 Entries
We Watches the Watchmen
33 Entries
What's Up, Documentary?
7 Entries
When Animal Movies Attack
6 Entries
You Got Comic Book in My Movie
194 Entries
You Know, For Kids!
91 Entries