Will Simth's Hancock - Movie Review

Meet John Hancock (Will Smith), a superhero who spends a healthy chunk of his day rescuing people from burning buildings, crazed bank robbers, accidents and so on. Unlike your conventional superhero who more often than not bends over backward for the masses, Hancock has certain anger management issues and he pretty much does things his way, no matter what the outcome.

To make matters worse he's got a drinking problem so it's no surprise that he isn't extremely popular with the denizens of Los Angeles; in fact they pretty much hate his guts.

To improve his public image we have PR executive, Ray Embrey played by Arrested Development's Jason Bateman who along with his idyllic family coaxes Hancock to mend his ways. As expected, Hancock turns over a new leaf through the course of the film, people start loving him unconditionally and everyone lives happily ever after again.

The movie starts off with a bang as we're introduced via an awesome chase sequence to a superhero who like all of us petty mortals suffers from mood swings and the occasional hangover.

Hancock's heart is in the right place but the copious amounts of alcohol flowing through his veins make him a Bull in a China shop…only it's not an actual shop but the city of LA we're talking about here.

This whole Bad Ass Superhero bit was working just fine for me until director Peter Berg (The Kingdom) felt the need to reform the protagonist thus transforming this comedy/action flick into a boring soap opera eventually.

From then on you have a lot unnecessary emotional fare till the credits roll, hampering the end battle in the process that by the way felt more like a tiny skirmish than an epic ending synonymous with more superhero flicks.

Luckily for us, Will Smith was his charismatic self as usual playing both the renegade as well as the reformed superhero with aplomb. He almost carried the entire movie on his shoulders but was bogged down eventually by the ridiculous "plot twists".

Jason Bateman was charming in his supporting role as Hancock's mentor of sorts while Charlize Theron who plays his doting wife, harbouring a dark secret of her own is her usual pretty self.

At the end of the day I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with the movie. Sure it was enjoyable watching Hancock wreck half of LA under the influence of a drunken stupor but the sudden transition from awesome action flick to emotional drama is what leads to its eventual downfall. Sure it's not as good as Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk but it's still a decent superhero flick that's well worth a watch.

Rating: 3/5