Hancock :: Wessex Scene Online

Hancock

Do I look like I care what people think?

5th October 2008
Will Roszczyk

About this film

Title	Hancock
Director	Peter Berg
Release Date	2 July 2008
Certificate
Genres	Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Our Rating	2.0/5.0
Shown at Union Films Sunday 23rd November 2008 8:00pm

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Hancock trailer

Will Smith in Hancock crashes in attempt to be the Fresh Prince of superheroes.

In a summer filled with superhero juggernauts The Dark Knight and Iron Man, both of which have been critically acclaimed, starred successful and interesting actors, and (most importantly to the suits in Hollywood) made lots of moolah, Hancock was always going to be the small fry, the one superhero film that might suffer, and suffered it has. But it has one ace in its pack in the shape of Will Smith. Smith, who is probably one of the best known actors in the world, is amongst many high-profile actors who have somehow never been in a comic-book or superhero film (have you ever seen, or can you imagine, Tom Cruise or Russell Crowe in tights fighting criminals and villains? Me neither). And he didn’t wait for a high-profile or well-known Marvel or DC superhero either; nope, he chose a new, different and possibly risky addition to the genre.

Hancock (Smith) is a boozy, nonchalant superhero who the citizens of Los Angeles hate and abuse, and even though he saves them, the collateral damage he causes is more than enough for the city to want him gone. After saving PR man Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), Hancock gains the unwanted assistance needed to make the people love him again, but surprises lie around the corner for him and Embrey, a selfless individual only seeking to help someone who saves his life.

With Peter Berg (who directed Jamie Foxx’s The Kingdom in 2006), Smith enters into the risky but profitable world of superhero films, and aims to create a new, unique take on the genre, and whilst many aspects of Hancock are quite interesting and independent of the superhero craze, the storyline’s shocking shift halfway through, coupled with a very short running time, make the film seem a shadow of what it aspired to be, and make it a Will Smith film that could have been better, and doesn’t live up to its initial promise.

Hancock himself, and his hilarious forays into saving lives and stopping crime, are really good to watch, just because it’s Will Smith, and because the effects (and the scenes themselves) are excellent, as well as comical. A scene in a prison hall, whilst hugely immature, is just one of these moments, and the aftermath of two of Hancock’s early rescues are also brilliant (think derailed trains and commuters venting at a carefree Hancock). It’s a shame that we don’t see more, as an accidental or useless superhero is more fun to watch here than a serious and perfect one, such as Superman, has ever been. However, the idea that Embrey can change Hancock’s public image, whilst clever, is also what slows the film down to a halt. Bateman is really good in the role, playing a real nice-guy who sees the best in everyone, and is a public relations worker with a heart – a fantasy itself! But that’s just it, in that he’s too nice. You feel awfully for him throughout as his trusting nature presents itself as misplaced in more than one area of his life.

Embrey’s wife Mary, played by Charlize Theron, injects some femininity into the film, but she doesn’t have much to do until the latter part of the film, which is where I really found fault with Hancock. It’s going as you expect, and then takes a real shift towards a storyline that is totally shocking. Whilst some people might find it helps the film, I found it to totally ruin everything that had come before, and the film seems to be confused as to where, or what it aims to do next. The other big gap in this film is that of a real, credible threat to the superhero, with Eddie Marsan’s criminal Red the only villain of any substance in the movie. And whilst having a direct reason to go against Hancock (they meet at a certain point and Red loses out), he has no superpowers, and none of the smarts of a Lex Luthor against his invulnerable, immortal opponent.

The film is well-directed by Berg, who seems to know how to shoot good action scenes, but his constant use of extreme, rotating close-up shots are almost comical after the first time, and reminded me all too much of Michael Bay, which to me is not good (though to others it may well be: I can’t take more than one slow-motion spin shot of a character in a Bay film before I break out into laughter). I think that the idea for this film could really have been something special and different towards the super hero film, which is getting quite tired now. However, the film loses a lot of its edge at the halfway point, and becomes more serious after having set out to be a comical movie, and its total confusion at this point makes it less engaging to watch.

It’s really all down to Will Smith -the only reason to watch it. If only the first half of it had been better than the second, it could well have been a more interesting and intelligent addition to the superhero genre. As it is, Hancock says it best when he proclaims “Do I look like I care what people think?” Because the film gives the impression that it didn’t, and that’s where it fails.