Many superhero movies have been made in the last several years, with the majority of them being based on comic books or graphic novels. I have seen some that featured characters created specifically for a movie, with some of those not being that great. Hancock was one of the movies not based on a comic book.
Hancock had amazing powers and while he would use them to help people, things tended to go a bit bad along the way. He would stop criminals, but cause millions of dollars in damages in the process and sometimes even hurt people he was trying to help. Most people in Los Angeles didn't seem to care for Hancock. That started to change after Hancock saved publicist Ray Embrey. Ray decided that Hancock needed to stop drinking so much and start acting more responsible so that people would appreciate him. Hancock decided to go along with the changes, which included him going to prison. Ray’s wife Mary wasn’t happy about Ray having anything to do with Hancock. Things did start to change, but he still faced other obstacles.
I thought that the plot for Hancock was interesting. Things were fairly simple overall, though there were some conflicts going on. Most of the movie was focused on Hancock dealing with a few issues he had and how he decided to go along with Ray’s plan to change his image. Some of the scenes connected to that aspect of the movie did move slower, which might bother some viewers. Some might find some of those scenes a bit boring. There really wasn’t any mystery to the movie and only very little suspense that turned up later in the movie. Several things were predictable, but there was one surprise tossed in that I didn’t see coming. I did feel like one or two things didn’t work as well.
Hancock was a different type of superhero movie that was a bit more unique than what has been done in most other superhero movies. Hancock was a different type of hero as well. Some superheroes, usually from Marvel comics, have had a lot of problems to deal with. Hancock did as well, though there were some things that were slightly different about him. When the movie started, he was not doing much to deal with his issues and he was drunk most of the time. He still tried to help people, but things tended to go a bit wrong. There really wasn’t an origin story like there has been in most other superhero movies. There was an explanation for Hancock’s powers later in the movie that was a bit different but interesting. It did seem like the movie was trying to be a bit like some of the more popular superhero movies at times. In one scene, when Hancock was flying in to deal with an issue, the music that was playing seemed to be trying to copy from the Superman movies.
There were several action scenes throughout Hancock. A few of the action scenes just involved Hancock doing something to try to help someone. He was shown using his powers, especially his ability to fly, several times. He dealt with criminals at different times during the movie. That did add most of the action as well as some violence at times. The violence really wasn’t that graphic, but it might be graphic enough to bother some viewers. There was swearing in the movie. Most of it was done by Hancock, including the only time the word that rhymes with luck was used. He used some colorful phrases at times. The language and violence caused the movie to be rated PG-13. This is not a child friendly movie.
From seeing the different trailers for Hancock, I had thought that there was going to be a lot of humor in the movie. Once again, a trailer misled me on how funny a movie was going to be. I hate when that happens. There was humor in the movie, but no where near as much as I thought there would be based on the trailers. There were really just a few things here and there that were funny. I think it was intended to be funny how some people, including children, kept calling Hancock a certain name. I didn’t think it was funny and it just got a bit old. Hancock had some unique ways of dealing with certain situations and some of those were funny, including a few things that were a bit violent. There were some other things that I remember seeing in the trailers that weren’t included in the movie.
Hancock had a lot of personal demons and issues he was dealing with. He would help or save people, but he usually ended up doing it in a way that caused a lot more damage and trouble. He didn’t deal well with most people and he didn’t seem to care what people thought of him until after Ray managed to get through to him. Frankly, he was a bit of a jerk. He did start to work though his issues, which did eventually help his disposition. I did think Will Smith handled the part well and made the character believable.
Ray and Mary were really the only other characters to receive much attention or development. Ray was a publicist who was saved by Hancock. Ray then decided that Hancock needed to change his image so that people would appreciate his help instead of hating him. Ray was a very kind, loving man who seemed a bit naive at times. Jason Bateman was fine in the part. Mary was Ray’s wife. She was never shown working outside the home. It was clear that she loved her husband. She wasn’t happy about Ray working with Hancock. There was a bit more to her than there seemed to be at first. Charlize Theron was fine, though nothing really special, in the part. A few other characters turned up a couple of times without being that developed.
Main Cast
Jason Bateman - Ray Embrey Will Smith - Hancock Charlize Theron - Mary Embrey
Peter Berg - Director
Hancock had some slow spots and one or two things that didn’t work as well, but it was still an entertaining action movie overall. Fans of the cast or of movies featuring superheroes may also like the movie.
There are heroes... there are superheroes... and then there's Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility -- everyone knows that...More at HotMovieSale.com
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