This is a slight but nevertheless enjoyable July 4th outing for Will Smith. I assume you have all seen the previews, so the basic plot setup requires little explanation. The movie divides neatly into three 30 minute segments. First segment has Smith, as John Hancock, the foul-mouthed, intemperate superhero. He drinks, swears, appears to have been sniffing coke, and does a pretty miserable job of saving the citizens of LA. Second segment sees Hancock persuaded by Ray, a mild-mannered media relations guy (Jason Bateman), to clean himself up, wear a nifty leather costume, and generally endear himself to the police and populace. The third segment is much darker, involves the origin story, and brings Ray’s wife, played by Charlize Theron center stage. Revealing any of that segment would require spoilers so I’ll wait until someone else sees the movie.
Without making great claims for an action comedy, the movie works. It is surprisingly funny, and the poignancy of Hancock’s loneliness sneaks up on you. I have been consistently impressed with Smith, and he squints, glares and manages to indicate an emptiness within, all without the aid of swelling music. Envisaging an anti-superhero may seem obvious, but it is executed well. This is not a superhero with a dark side, or one torn by split loyalties. His flaws are the all too human ones of anger, alcohol and bitterness.
The final segment did not impress my kids. Too slow and the shift of focus to Theron certainly interrupted the rhythm of the movie. But I liked it. The origin story is clever, and the symbiotic relationship between Smith and Theron avoids simplism or easy resolution. And, I have to admit, Charlize Theron is utterly gorgeous.
thank you for that last sentence, chris. i was getting ready to write it myself.
“simplism”? That’s a good one.
i watched this a couple of nights ago, and quite liked it as well. i’m not sure if any of the reviewers mention this but it is interesting to look at this as a film about race. hancock is a black superhero. his blackness is never brought up as such in the film, which seems to nod towards both the market demands of the summer blockbuster and towards a post-race vision of los angeles. nonetheless, i couldn’t help seeing him as very much a black superhero, whose alienation made the most sense (pace the cryptic origin story) as a black superhero who neither identifies with nor is identified with by the society he is supposed to protect. (a fate that is shared by wesley snipes’ blade as well.) unlike white superheroes that we’re familiar with he neither has any interest in science and technology nor any access to toys (blade, of course, has lots of toys built by his white father figure). his only accessory is cheap booze. he’s more super homeless man, than superman. and from this point of view, the final third of the film…
(and this comment is a spoiler, so don’t read on if you plan to see it)
… plays out as a story about the fear of miscegenation. hancock and mary are made for each other, will become human only if they come together, but this coming together means death, and must be resisted by them (the resistance recast as sacrifice). the film ends with the white family made whole once again, while the black hero sits alone and broods.