Hancock (12a)
Dir. Peter Berg
Reviewed by Matt Hancock
Hancock (originally going to be titled ‘Adcock’ but changed due to legal reasons) tells the tale of an immortal being that walks amongst us. Stronger, faster and invulnerable to damage Hancock is a true superhero but he’s also fully human in that he has issues with self-esteem and interfacing with the public…
Will Smith plays this flawed protector whose subversive ‘just don’t care’ tendencies mean that when he saves the day, there’s usually a multimillion dollar amount of collateral damage that goes along with it.
Hancock has been miss-sold as a comedy Hancock by the superb trailer which showboats some the best scenes such as the hero casually tossing a massive beached whale back into the ocean (inadvertently destroying a luxury yacht in the process) or chasing down a car full of gun toting crooks but wrecking most of the freeway.
What you actually get is a funky superhero relationship drama, which begins with some killer funnies and develops into a darker origins tale. Can the controversial antihero be reformed and made into a loved public champion – a seemingly chance encounter with a PR professional Ray (Jason Bateman) might just be the chance he needs… But what’s with the secretly guarded looks that Ray’s wife Mary (Charlize Theron) is giving Hancock? And why should the ultimate man of steel be such a cantankerous misery guts when he could potentially be loved and worshiped as the people’s champion? There’s just enough mystery to keep you playing along when the comedy dries up and standard super hero action takes over.
But I must say that those coming to see a ‘Super Bad Boys’ will find themselves scratching their heads and leaving vowing never to trust a film trailer again.
Smith is excellent however whether snarling at friends and foes to begin with, handling the adult natured slap stick of shoving one convicts head up another’s backside or rising to his noble calling and saving a policewoman injured and pinned down by automatic gunfire happy bank robbers.
The tone of the film is certainly uneven but there was a lot of love for Hancock in the screening I was in – one viewer even shouting out words of encouragement when the hero finds himself in mortal peril. A point to note though is that this isn’t a very kid friendly vehicle with profanity and adult natured scenes throughout.
If looking for a hot new comedy I also saw the premier of Luton’s finest Wade Brothers first big screen movie ‘Much Ado About Lauren’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leZ8sAmbipA – it’s an awesome effort, so click here and track down where you might be able to get a copy!
DARKMATTERS RATING SYSTEM (all ratings out of maximum 10 but '-' is bad whereas '+' is good):
Endorphin Stimulation: ööööööö (8)
+ Nice ideas that will please super hero fans more than action comedy junkies...
Tasty Action: öööööööö (8)
+ Some truly memorable set pieces.
Gratuitous Babeness: öööööööö (8)
+ Theron is a hottie, no doubt in my mind
Mind Blight / Boredom: ööööö (5)
- Not the film many will be expecting from the cool trailer
Comedic Value: öööööööööö (9)
+ Very funny in places but a comedy overall
Arbitrary final rating: öööööööö (8)
Big Willie does superhero crisis in style
Liable to make you:
"wonder if you're wife is actually a superhero..."
DM Poster Quote:
“We've been sent a new saviour - but he's bit of a boozer alas"
"When Hancock lets one rip, the taxpayer picks up the bill..."
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