Review: Hancock

This is a very adult superhero movie. And I don’t mean in that Will Smith finally shows us his penis (don’t worry we’ll get him someday), no I mean in the characters and problems everything is more mature than what we’ve seen in the superhero flicks of yore. Yes, yes, we’ve seen conflicted superheroes and ones with troubled pasts, but the entire tone of this movie is less sugary than even Batman Begins. Also there is a whole Hancock being an allegory for America or whatever.

So John Hancock (Will Smith) is a drunk, brazen, and careless superhero. When he is stopping crime and saving lives it is largely with a great amount of destruction and his people skills are unrefined to say the least. So the public is clamoring for him to straighten up or simply to just go away. These taunts and suggestions fell on the superhero’s deaf ears, that is until he saves the life of a public relations worker (Jason Bateman) who in return wants to help Hancock improve his public image, much of the chagrin of his wife (Charlize Theron, not mentally retarded this time) who holds the same view as the majority of the people. So Hancock tries to clean up his act all while dealing with his troubling mysterious past.

As I said this cape movie is more adult. Hancock’s, in fact all the character’s, actions and emotions are well crafted believable representations of who they are and what they feeling based on what’s happening to them. Hancock as an uncaring drunk, stemming from his pressure as a hero, alienation of his powers from the rest of the world, and uncertain past is I think a genius turn on the superhero story. Bateman’s character as a slightly naïve altruistic PR rep, works well with Smith’s cynicism and general id response. And it’s humorous to see this interplay of what is essentially the ability to do anything and doing the greater good for the world that these two characters can represent. And after this Freudian struggle the movie then delves into the problems of Hancock’s past. And this is where I feared the movie would become trite and unsatisfying, but it did not disappoint. It still chose to defy superhero conventions and bring about an unexpected road that provides, again, a real adult manifestation. Humor, drama, action, characters, especially characters, this movie has quite the tidy little package of entertainment.

Still, I have some qualms. I am theoretical about how his powers in relation to his past work, as it is not specifically stated. And there are parts that seem a tad contradictory because of this. Maybe more detail about this would solve the problem, and it’s not a huge detail without, but can be a little irksome and confusing. The only other issue is: boy does this director like close-ups. I mean at least half of the movie was Smith’s, Bateman’s, or Theron’s head taking up the entire movie screen. I haven’t seen this much huge face in frame since Hard Candy (that’s not really a joke, it’s just that Hard Candy also had a lot of headshots too).

So good, entertaining, and very, very smart. You’ll come for the Smith, you’ll stay for the character development.

Rating: 9/10