I finally got to see Hancock last night - and what a disappointment.

I hadn't planned to write a review for the film. Though I had resisted the temptation to read any others before viewing, I knew there were plenty out there already.

But, I have felt compelled to do so - not so much because of how bad it was, but because of how much of a tease it was.

Sorry, if I am souding like a broken record, but it could've been so much better. (Spoliers ahead)




I love my superhero movies, well at least the idea of them. It's the ultimate escapism. But, clearly they don't always 'come off' ie. Daredevil, Superman Returns.

Hancock, although unique in as far as it doesn't come from the pages of a comic book and paints the hero as more of a anti-hero, is another to fall well short of the mark.

Speaking of marks the film should've stopped at the 40-minute one. I would've considered it a success.

In that time we got quite an intelligent story of a man struggling to cope with his immortality so turns to alcohol and anti-social behaviour.
He saves a few lives, but is really just an arsehole.

With the star quality of Will Smith, the audience was able to move between genuine laugh-aloud comedy to the odd serious dramatic moment.

It was edgy - especially with that shaking-camera effect. Now that is edgy.

But seriously, there were some really clever moments from the opening when Hancock, flying through the air, bottle in hand, must contend with a flock of birds. Then there were the youtube moments, such as Hancock flinging the beached whale back into the sea, straight into a boat.

Soon after we see Hancock depressed and alone in his prison cell after being pursuaded to pay for some of the damage his careless superpowered antics have caused the city of Los Angeles. You actually felt for the guy.

It was a tough balacing act but director Peter Berg seemed to be pulling it off - in the first 40 minutes that is.

An incarcirated Hancock soon wises up, dons his new (albeit a tad lame) superhero costume, and becomes a hero to the people after foiling a bank robbery and saving lives.

It was an engrossing sequence with comedy meshed with action with Hancock, bullets fying around him saves the day.

End credits...




But, no, this is when the rug is pulled out from under everybody.

We knew something was going on early in the piece when we got those bleeding obvious looks from Charlize Theron, who plays the wife of the PR guy (Jason Bateman) who appoints himself Hancock's agent.

She turns out to be anti-hero's star-crossed lover he had forgotten all about. They turn out to be a couple of angel-types who have been living on Earth for centuries.

She goes all My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Remember that one? Another failed attempt to bring a new angle to the superhero movie.

I can understand the producers wanting to maybe steer clear of making Hanock from outer space or something, but angels! C'mon!

Everything associated with Theron's character should've been left out. I'm still shaking my head.

From what was a somewhat realistic portrayal of a flawed hero, with splashes of comedy, the last half was just plain ludicrous, and had as many plot holes as the history of Scientology. (Smith's apart of that too I think)

It obviously lacked a main villian and while the finale was gripping and well shot, there was no big fight scene either. Apparently we got that earlier when Smith and Theron were coming to grips with each other through the city streets.

The scriptwriters were the real villains here.

Smith was good, as was Bateman (if scarcely used in the latter section). But, I'm so glad the film was barely 80-minutes long, but again, 40-minutes too long.

Oh well, better luck next time. And you just know, with over $200mill at the US box-office, there will be a next time. Hancock 2. Just leave Theron out of it.

Ok, I'm glad I got that off my chest. I feel better now.

RATING: 5/10
5 for the first half, 0 for the second.