A few people I know who saw the trailer for Hancock thought it revealed everything in the movie. They boasted that they can write an accurate review of the movie just from the trailer.
If you think you know what the story is about, well think again. Seriously.
Hancock is simply one of the very rare Hollywood blockbusters today that can still surprise. Nothing you already know about superhero movies will prepare you for this. I assure you.
The movie starts off as a regular superhero flick, albeit one where the superhero keeps screwing things up despite his best intentions. It's almost a spoof of the genre. Hancock (Will Smith) is the drunk superdude whose heroics keep costing the city of Los Angeles millions in damages to property. In comes Ray (Jason Bateman), a PR guy who is rescued by Hancock from a near-death situation with a train. Ray is genuinely thankful to Hancock, unlike the rest of LA. He thinks he has the perfect plan to improve Hancock's public image. Ray thinks Hancock should give himself up to the authorities who already want to incarcerate him for all the trouble he's caused. Ray thinks once Hancock is in jail, the city will start missing him when there's no one to rescue them anymore. These are not spoilers. They're all in the trailer!
Of course, Ray's plans go extremely well, and Hancock becomes a loveable icon. But there's more to the guy than he seems. And somewhere along the way, the movie takes a completely unpredictable turn, and I guarantee you won't see it coming. It's far-out, but it's very well done. It's the one thing they never even hinted at in the trailer. And it's what makes the film such a stand-out among this summer's fare. All other superhero movies pale by comparison. It might seem like I'm overpraising the movie, but when you've been getting movie after movie that disappoints or is just mediocre, or entertains but is forgettable, Hancock comes as a very refreshing surprise. I say there's hope yet for Hollywood blockbusters.
At some point, it becomes a whole different movie altogether. It's smart, it's funny (although some jokes do fall flat), and it's got a whole lot of heart. It might even make you a little tearful. It's that good. It's so good, I will stop writing anything more about the film, because it would give away too much.
I just have this to say to Peter Berg and Will Smith: GOOD JOB!
Will Smith's July Extravaganza...
"All other superhero movies pale by comparison."
If this is better than The Incredibles, I'll eat my anti-gravity boots.
Man, Visitor ... you liked it a whole lot better than me. I don't think it's a bad film but it never really gets any better than just okay and releasing less than a week after Wanted and Wall-E, this thing is going to get slaughtered at the box office.
well, i think it's very clear what it wants to be.
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it stars off being about a misunderstood superhero, about "great power comes great responsibility," all those superhero conventions. then it abandons all of that, and becomes a story about loneliness, sacrifice and destiny vs freewill.
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what i like about it most is that it's got a great big heart throughout.
I agree with you... that's the 'story' but what kind of film was it? Superhero? Comedy? Gross out comedy? Family Drama? Romance? It was everywhere on the genre spectrum.
i like all over the place genre like Save The Green Planet... haven't seen Hancock yet but something tells me they didn't pull it off?
Going to see it in a few hours. Look forward to it.
I don't plan on paying any more of my time to see what exactly they reshot, but the cut I saw was terrible. Too busy, crammed with too many ideas - it didn't know what it wanted to be.
I will say though: Jason Bateman is awesome, but is that really a surprise?
Save the Green Planet is one of my favorite movies. the way it was marketed and presented was what made the curve ball it throws throughout the film so curvy.
just came back from it:
If they didn't throw in the twist towards the end then it would have been ok. It literally came out of nowhere. I did enjoy the first half. I felt like we were stepping into a character that was already established and it felt nice because we didn't get an origin story. Will Smith pulls off being an asshole very well. But at the same time he was alittle too good at it. Jason Bateman is great but he's just Michael from Arrested Dev. Charleze Theron was forgettable. I was expecting much so it was alright for me.
Wow. I quite liked Hancock. Charlize Theron was fabulous, and strange to think that a big Will Smith blockbuster would play like a fusion of Dianipponjin, The Highlander and Superman, and this all in a good way.
The movie is not without its flaws, but oi, a rollicking good time with some fascinating bits to chew on.
I'm glad this movie was made. Sorry Haters.
Agree with Kurt, but even more with Visitor.
I had a blast, and carve up another notch on Peter Berg's resumee. I'm going to watch that guy a lot closer from now on...
Strange how people seem to be all over the place on this one. The group I saw it with was uniformly positive.
Yes, that twist need not have happened, but it didn't come out of nowhere either. How about letting a director tell a tale for once, instead of expecting him to follow the audiences supposed preference step by step? I loved how not everything is explained, but you get to see a tiny sliver of what makes John Hancock (or whatever his real name is) tick.
Even more fun was discussing this movie as an allegory for American foreign politics.
Barging in too fast, too loud, in theory the good guy, making a big impression short-term, leaving a lot of damage long-term, resenting being despised for it BUT STILL trying to be the good guy, desperately craving the love and respect of the rest of the world. Oh, and carrying an eagle.
Reminds you of someone or something?
As a non-American we thought it was funny. Definitely un-subtle but quite daring, just like the rest of the movie.