Will Smith bulks up and dons a beanie to play 'superhero' Hancock, an alcoholic mess who generally destroys more than he saves.
Having fallen out of favour with the public, Hancock allows PR guru Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) to rejuvenate his image. However Ray's wife Mary (Charlize Theron) immediately writes off the occasional crimefighter as a lost cause. As grumpy Hancock struggles to get his act together and actually be nice for once, she may well be right.
This is perhaps best described as an anti-hero superhero movie. Peter Berg (Welcome to the Jungle, The Kingdom) directs and, following a brilliant teaser trailer doing the rounds earlier this year, prospects are promising.
They say:
Variety: “An intriguing high concept is undermined by low grade dramaturgy.”
Empire: “Lacks the power of super coherence.”
The Guardian: “Smith's charm is minimally on show.”
We say:
Alcoholism always looks great in the movies, doesn't it? After downing a distillery, the worse you can expect is some cool stubble and a mild headache.
Will Smith does this Hollywood hangover with ease. Swigging from a whiskey bottle and scowling, we'll wager he's never pissed his pants in the street or woken up in his own vomit.
As John Hancock, Smith is in 70% comedic 30% sympathetic mode. Being welcomely light on lip quivers, this is more about brash comebacks and jokes against the French. As usual, the sometime rapper cum megastar puts in an ably competent performance with nothing special about it whatsoever.
The raw material in Hancock's screenplay is good. The premise - a superhero who is a miserable screw up and hates people - is amusing and intriguing. We're sold.
It's doubling frustrating then that after about forty minutes the final script diverts from fantasy comedy to dramedy, wrapping itself in a muddled message concerning immortality and destiny - neither of which are much fun. A significant reversal in the second act lays out blueprints for an inventive conclusion, yet director Berg seems unable to exploit the possibilities.
Plus with no obvious antagonist for Hancock (apart from himself), the story pace gets lost amidst a dead end narrative.
It's one thing to make a film about, say, a meteor hurtling towards earth - you know that at some point the protagonist will have to deal with the situation and resolve it. But what happens if Hancock decides not to stop boozing and acting a nuisance? Nothing much. Life trundles along as usual, albeit with more whale flinging and less liquor on the shelves.
With only an inter personal story driving the picture, this becomes a sorry case of big concept, small movie. While it is commendable of the creative team not to put Hancock's regeneration in the middle of an opportune crimewave, he needs to save us all from something more threatening than a bank robber with a hook (played by Eddie Marsan, who amazingly used to be in Grange Hill).
Even Jason Bateman, effectively reprising his Michael Bluth character from TV's Arrested Development, can't stop the boredom bell ringing in your ears. He falters through a cluttered slo mo climax with no more idea of what is supposed to be happening than his director.
Golden Charlize Theron does have more to offer than impersonating a giant bar of Caramac, though there is scant evidence of such here. Her unconvincing turn as the devoted housewife with a secret plays to precisely none of her strengths.
A pounding soundtrack (featuring witty use of ICE-T's Colors) and natty FX can't sculpt melancholy Hancock into anything meaningful. It's neither good nor bad. Just pointless.
CAST
Will Smith
Charlize Theron
Jason Bateman
Johnny Galecki
DIRECTOR
Peter Berg
TIME
92 mins
POSTED...
Sun 6 Jul at 12:19pm
