Hancock (DVD, 2008, 2-Disc Set, Unrated)

I finally got the opportunity to see the movie Hancock during a free preview this past weekend on DirecTV :

I had wanted to see this movie when it came out, but the stars never aligned for me ... c'est la vie.

Boy, am I glad I didn't pay money to see it.

About the only thing that kept me interested was the special effects and in places it looked like they ran out of money and had to add a few flying shots here and there - the quality of the flying sequences effects is comparable to the 1979 Superman.

One of the things I like to look at is box office totals vs production costs:

USA: $227,946,274
+ Foreign: $396,440,472
= Worldwide: $624,386,746

Hancock did very well - it's budget was $150 Million. This is obviously an instance where Will Smith was a large part of the reason it did so well. It has the "I'll see it because it's got Will Smith in it" factor.

The story centers around a mysterious homeless drunk (Hancock played by Will Smith) who has super powers. He's often called upon to save the day, but usually ends up causing millions of dollars worth of damage and public outcry is usually greater than the call for help.

The plot kind of gets lost and mixed up when a character tries to explain Hancock's powers. The references to angels and Gods muddies the waters of identifying with the characters. What is he? An Angel? A God? Demon (or fallen Angel)? An alien?

The ending will have you asking, why didn't he die - as it's established that he can die and his kind is all but gone.

I was surprised by the amount of cursing - especially the swearing - by Will Smith in the movie.

I mentioned that to my wife, adding that I thought Will Smith was pretty religious. She reminded me that Smith was a Scientologist. I had forgotten about that and remembered that he tried to deny it. After a quick Google search I found he's made several hundred thousand dollars in donations to the church of Scientology.

Cursing only comes to my mind if it's unnecessary. One way to tell if it's unnecessary will be to see when Hancock comes on national television. Most of the cursing and swearing will be taken out.

It's almost like, if I'm watching a movie about the mafia, I expect blood and swearing.

This movie had children in it and a lot of the cursing seemed out of place.

If you like Will Smith, he's very out of character here, and I don't recommend it.

The DVD may be worth it for the alternate ending.

Hancock was a pretty interesting as well as entertaining movie. It definitely wasn't your typical superhero movie; and it wasn't originally a DC or Marvel comic. It's more about what would happen if someone with superheroes was around in modern times, and that is what makes it interesting. If there's some property damage done while catching criminals, people will be angry; if a vigilante has a bad attitude, people will be angry. I suppose Batman explores some of that not being liked by the public, as well as the bad attitude and personal trauma of the hero, but I found Hancock to be quite original in its handling of these issues. I liked the media attention and the use of sunglasses as a "mask" of sorts. I really liked how Hancock progresses as a character, and I liked the other characters as well. Usually little kids in movies annoy me, but the son of the supporting character was pretty cute and endearing. This isn't really a hero movie where there is a superhero and a super villain; I think it's more about what it means to be a human and relate to other people, to do good things and the desire to be accepted. I think the best part of Hancock is that it's about a superhuman who is just very human. It was a lot of fun.

I don't understand all of the criticism this movie is receiving. Everyone take a second and realize this is not a Marvel or DC comic book superhero movie. Now think about that again. It is a different story entirely and has some very unique elements.

Hancock isn't action packed. It doesn't have a Superhero vs. Supervillan plot. I would probably describe it as a character study of the superhero. I think this movie does a better job of addressing some of the issues (and vices) a superhero probably would have if they existed today. The biggest conflict in the movie is within Will Smith's character's attitude, not necessarily good vs. evil.

I think much of the criticism I have read about is motivated by expectations that were not met, which isn't fair at all. If you watch Hancock with only the expectation of being entertained, you will leave happy. Its a good movie, don't jump on the bandwagon of not liking it just because you can. Give it a chance and take it for what it is, a July 4th action/comedy.

We give HANCOCK a Rating of Good. It was interesting, comical at times, and held our attention throughout the movie, but was somewhat a little less than what we had expected. The movie could have been so much more, especially with Will Smith. It was a good movie, with some good ideas and decent writing, but was somewhat cheesy in some scenes.
It offered good graphics and Special Effects.
Even though we give it a "B" Rating, we would watch it again.

Good Movie

Our Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Rent It or Buy It? Rent It first.


We hope that you found this Movie Review HELPFUL. If you did, please let us know and CLICK YES below!

We write all of our Movie Reviews for those that havent yet seen the movie to know what theyre in for, and if the movie is worth watching/buying.

THANKS FOR READING OUR REVIEW!!

I am a big fan of both Charlize Theron and Will Smith and I had heard from friends about how good and fun this movie is. I also prefer the 2 disc set because of the extra features.