Hancock - Grading & Discussion

[JoeZhang]

I saw it and thought it was great - lots of interesting stuff in there, even if some of it didn't quite work.

Waiting for that director's cut..

[Trekker4747]

Hancock: A+/Solid A... A and a half?

What can I say? This has mostly been a Summer of winners for movies. Hancock pretty much lives up to the Will "Greatest Star in the World" Smith legacy of Independence Weekend Hits (tarnished a bit by Wild, Wild West) in Hancock.

It was a surprisingly good movie for me. A lot of reviews and comments I've seen people mention the tonal shift in the middle of the movie, and it's a pretty clear and obvious one, but it's instigated by a surprise twist I certainly did not see coming.

Will Smith, as always, was great in his role and it was nice to see a Will Smith movie that wasn't about "Will Smith" as all the actors put in good performances and stand out in their own ways. But the movie has some good themes in it and it'll be interesting to see if it sets the course for a franchise of future films but otherwise the movie stands out pretty good on its own.

It's certainly worth seeing in the theaters and it's a good time and has some pretty good themes in it. Good, solid, movie.

What more can I say?

[Lookingglassman]

This is one movie that proves movie critics are more worthless than Britney Spears. I read two reviews of this movie and they basically said the same thing, it sucked. Well I went to see it and it was EXCELLENT! I highly recommend you to go see it. It was a total departure from your formula superhero movie and I really enjoyed it. I rated it an A+.

[Lapis Exilis]

Very enjoyable flick. I think it's getting bashed for unfair, but understandable reasons.

Yes, the origin story is sketchy. Any sketchier than say... a genetically altered spider overnight changing the DNA of a human being through one bite? Not at all, but Hancock, being an original character, doesn't have the 'okay we're going to go with this' acceptance factor other superheroes have built up over time.

Tonal shifts? More abrupt than Superman: The Movie? Not even close.

Inconsistent powers? Seriously - someone's going to criticize a superhero story for that? That's so common it could be considered a convention of the genre.

So, being as Hancock is quite normal for a superhero story - what are it's real strengths and weaknesses?

Smith is fantastic, and carries the day, especially hard when establishing a new superhero on film. He's funny, poignant and heroic.

Bateman is showing his usual understated charm. Ray's arc is as compelling as Hancock's, which is nice.

Theron does a great job of playing her repressed feelings for Hancock, and stands up well as a superheroine herself.

For me the movie's biggest flaw is in filling in the backstory and in the final act of Hancock's heroism, which still played well, but lost its emotional impact upon the slightest reflection. What should have happened was that during the fight with Mary, Hancock regains his memory, and has a series of flashbacks to explain their past together. Not only would this have been some interesting action and better explained the whole 'the more time we spend together the weaker we get' issue, but it would have kicked his leaving up by a power of ten - because he would remember loving Mary, but would leave anyway so she and Ray and Aaron could have their family.

Somebody above mentioned not understanding how Mary and Hancock could have lived 3000 years - but she explains that. They are continually driven apart by attacks, which breaks her heart over and over again. That's why she wants to stay away from him. She knows it will happen again.

What no one seems to be talking about, which I just can't believe - is the allegorical aspects of this movie. Smith, I have no doubt, is quite aware of them. The entire first half of the movie struck me as allegory about the choices facing men, and specifically black men, as they grow up in our society. Do I indulge my power in quick and easy ways, take what I can get just because I can get it? Hardly a new theme, but, as always, seeing it played out larger than life in superheroes is very powerful. When Ray talks to Hancock in prison about being ready when they call because they need you, it made me think of all the guys in prison and their families. Maybe this is because I have a step-brother who just got out after 8 years inside, but the issue of the lack of a black Superman has long been discussed. To have one realized in this way - it's very in touch with real issues in contemporary society. Is it deep? No, but it is right there with the rest of superhero history - reflecting wish fulfillment fantasies and growing pains.

[Technobuilder]

I could've sworn i saw Charlize Theron in a "Hancock Superhero Outfit" during one of the Trailers for the Movie... but I didn't see that in the film. And that's odd considering that's the main reason I knew she was going to be a super too before I even sat down in the theater.

The only reason I mention it, is that you all mentioned significant cuts to the picture to satisfy a PG-13 rating and make the movie more "accessible"

Update:

I went back and watched the trailer, and it's just her in the long leather coat taking off her glasses, but it was enough of a give away to me apparently recognize that CT wasn't going to be playing just a bit part as the Happy Homemaker.

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

I thought it was really good, up until the "twist" with the wife. At that point, the whole thing goes off the rails, is completely out of left field, and isn't properly explained... it's all just sort of mumbled out.

in fact, they could have left the entire thing with the wife out, and the plot would kind of have been the same. It almost feels like.... the writer wrote out their movie, their story arc for Hancock... got to the part where he wins the adoration of the city... wrote the last scene with the heart logo on the moon... then realized he was 45 minutes short and inserted the whole strange backstory with the wife.

Interesting movie, pretty good, and gets credit for trying "something", but falls short of greatness.

[Bob The Skutter]

I can't believe any one didn't see the "twist" coming. From the second she looked at him weird when he first showed up at their house, I knew there was something up. Then when she said she knew "guys like him" I knew they had a connection, and after he explained his "Origin"the only way they could have that is if she was around 80 years ago.

[Lapis Exilis]

I don't thnk it was all that shocking when it occurs because there's plenty of foreshadowing that something's up between her and Hancock, though the way they actually went with it was surprising. Before the reveal, I kept thinking "she's one too - Hancock thinks he's alone but he's not. She knows where they come from. And he thinks he's a lousy hero but at least he's trying, she's just leading a normal life in hiding." A lot of the tension in the first half of the movie came from wondering what secrets she would reveal.

[TGTheodore]

I can't believe any one didn't see the "twist" coming. From the second she looked at him weird when he first showed up at their house, I knew there was something up.

"Something is up" is a far cry from knowing exactly what that "something" is. So I take it you knew just from her look that they were immortal "angel" partners who had been separated off and on for 3000 years and who lose their powers when close to each other for prolonged periods of time?

Wow. You're good..

--Ted

[Bob The Skutter]

TG Theodore wrote:

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"Something is up" is a far cry from knowing exactly what that "something" is. So I take it you knew just from her look that they were immortal "angel" partners who had been separated off and on for 3000 years and who lose their powers when close to each other for prolonged periods of time?

Wow. You're good..

--Ted

Not just from that look, but as more hints were dropped, like the "I know guys like him" line, and when he revealed his amnesia, I thought it became obvious at that point that they were the same, and she actually knew him. My first thought was that she was the one who broke his skull.

[Agent Richard07]

I'm surprised at how people can figure out stuff like this. I just thought that she was annoyed because her husband brought some dirty bum home.

[steveman]

I voted Average.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but less Charlize Theron would've made this a better movie. "Hancock" shows great potential when it's trying to be a comedy. Will Smith's drunken, lethargic Hancock is a variety of hero we haven't seen before -- one that clearly demonstrates how altruism isn't a trait that comes natrually to all heroes. For about the first two acts, the movie felt like a fresh take on the superhero genre.

But then we discover the truth about Charlize Theron's character. And about her relationship with Hancock. And about "who" these two are.

And that's when "Hancock" lost me. All the revealtions in the second half regarding the aforementioned were very abrupt and, frankly, didn't qualify as decent twists because they were so half-baked.

"Hancock" is a movie best looked at as two halves; the first, a fresh, entertaining take on the superhero genre (a genre that will noticeably start suffering from fatigue in the coming years, if it isn't already) and the second, an unfocused, puzzling attempt at drama that creatively conflicts with the first half.

Perhaps a director's cut will make "Hancock" feel more like a cohesive whole. But the version we have now was sorely disappointing, especially when it could have been a particularly unique entry in the superhero genre.

[Ethros]

Good review from SFX magazine that gave it 2.5/5

Imagine if an actual superhero were put together in the same way as a Hollywood blockbuster. He would be concrete from the waist down and vapour from the nipples up; he would creep around with astonishing stealth and wear a glowing orange helmet; he would have the ability to fly - but drive around everywhere in a souped-up monster truck. He would be right at home, in other words, in Hancock, a superhero film so incoherent it makes Catwoman look like Visconti’s Death In Venice.
And yet the first half hour promises so much. Will Smith is John Hancock, a man who can tick off flight, strength and invulnerability in the superpower survey but who still lives in a trailer and is constantly drunk and obnoxious. He fights crime, but wreaks far more havoc than the criminals. One day he lackadaisically saves the life of a PR guru played by Jason Bateman. In return Bateman’s character decides to help Hancock improve his public image. All this is very funny, and, as in Cloverfield, the combination of shaky handheld cameras and expensive CGI is deft indeed.
But then the proper plot starts and the laughing stops. Sony have made a forehead-smacking oversight here, which is that they’ve neglected, for once in recent Hollywood history, to give away the basic twist in the trailer. No doubt heads have already rolled over this disaster, but for the audience it might even be a boon, since the twist, which comes about halfway through, is a pretty exciting one.
It’s only when the twist’s implications begin to surface that the film falls on its invincible face. Clearly the product of a dozen drafts by a dozen different screenwriters with a dozen different "great ideas", the third act of Hancock – which bids goodbye to the supertramp - is a pompous, nonsensical mess. And every time director Peter Berg forces in some incongruous comedy, or edits out a conversation that might have explained what just happened, you can see all the stitches and glue.
Have you ever had a friend who’s so much fun when they’re smashed that a guilty part of you wishes they’d never sober up? That’s Hancock.
Ned Beauman

Pretty much sums it up for me

Original-
http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=film_review_hancock

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

I would nudge that score up to 3/5, as I believe it was better than average, but yes that review does a remarkable job of summing up how I felt about the movie.

[JoeZhang]

Lookingglassman wrote:

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This is one movie that proves movie critics are more worthless than Britney Spears. I read two reviews of this movie and they basically said the same thing, it sucked. Well I went to see it and it was EXCELLENT! I highly recommend you to go see it. It was a total departure from your formula superhero movie and I really enjoyed it. I rated it an A+.

The critics reaction seems to be entirely out of synch with the reactions I'm getting from people who have seen the film.