Hancock (***)

Directed by: Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights, The Rundown, Very Bad Things)
Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
Seen: July 2nd 2008

*** Out of ****

First of all, this was marketed as an outright comedy – which it is for the first ±60% of the movie. Then it turns into an altogether different type of film – a deeper philosophy on the existence and operation of superheros. And this is why many will not fully enjoy this – they’ll feel robbed, paying for one thing and getting something else.

The concept of a superhero as a drunkard and general don’t care kind of guy is one I haven’t seen much before, and it is presented with quite the high level of entertainment. The public hates Hancock (Smith), even though he helps them fight crime. This is because he actually wrecks the city with every single act of heroism, costing the citizens much more than he’s actually winning back by stopping the criminals.

Enter Ray Embrey (Bateman), an out-of-luck public relations officer, Hancock saves his life, and he decides to step in as Hancock’s PRO. Once again, in the attempt to save Ray, Hancock trashes an entire freight train and several cars. So Ray convinces Hancock to hand himself over to the police, to be arrested and jailed for his destructive behavior, which he does. And what do you know? Once he’s in jail, crime escalates at a crazy rate, and the public ask him to come back – how fickle our society – use people as long as they seem valuable, then discard, or better, crucify them.

He does a quick turnaround and saves the day, but along the way he gets closer to Mary (Theron), Ray’s wife, and he learns more about himself than he knew. He woke up after an accident in the 1920’s, and he doesn’t remember anything from before that. And in this the change of tone of the film – getting more serious as to Hancock’s existence and origins.

Some people won’t truly enjoy the darker tone from this moment, but this, at least for me, lifted the film from the general action-comedy-superhero film genre into something better – the conflicted-superhero-drama, adding some Grecian mythology to the mix. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.