It becomes an entirely different film, one not really premised on the bad-superhero comedy idea, and the film is then oddly without a sense of humour, and its vague interest in satire vanishes completely.
Hancock (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:11
Fresh:3
Rotten:8
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: Though it begins with promise, Hancock suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:02-07-2008
Synopsis: There are heroes… there are superheroes… and then there’s Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility – everyone knows that – everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted,... There are heroes… there are superheroes… and then there’s Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility – everyone knows that – everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock’s well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough – as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn’t the kind of man who cares what other people think – until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock’s greatest challenge yet – and a task that may prove impossible as Ray’s wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), insists that he’s a lost cause. --© Sony Pictures [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan
Starring: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan
Director: Peter Berg
Director: Peter Berg
Screenwriter: Vy Vincent Ngo, Vince Gilligan
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, Michael Mann, Will Smith, James Lassiter
Composer: John Powell
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Reviews for Hancock
See-saws between straight superhero movie and parody, with layers of soap-opera fudge in between. A lot of solid scenes - but Hancock lacks the power of super-coherence.
Between the jittery pseudo-realism of Peter Berg's direction and the maudlin undercurrent to its hero's redemption, all Hancock can summon up is the faintest sensation of nausea.
Sadly, the bar is set too high and the movie implodes under the weight of its own ambitions.
Train wrecks are intrinsically spectacular, and Will Smith's new movie offers a doozy. Two of them, in fact.
Hancock makes for one unexpectedly satisfying and kinky addition to Hollywood’s superhero chronicles.
Smith's pictures deliver familiar pleasures; they work with efficiency but not inspiration, honoring the time-honored movie platitudes that will neither shock nor stretch an audience.
Hancock is a lot of fun, if perhaps a little top-heavy with stuff being destroyed.
It's a strange feeling to see the summer's most promising premise self-destruct into something bizarre and unsatisfying, but that is the Hancock experience.
This misguided attempt to wring a novel twist on the superhero genre has a certain whiff of The Last Action Hero about it.
Latest News for Hancock
December 01, 2009:
Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 ![]()
Yes, Will Smith and Peter Berg are game for a "Hancock" sequel -- and just as importantly, so is the studio -- but it looks like scheduling could keep it from happening for awhile. More...
September 11, 2009:
Will Smith and Charlize Theron on Board for Hancock Sequel ![]()
We've already heard that a "Hancock" sequel is in development; now Peter Berg tells MTV that "everybody's going to come back." More...
August 28, 2009:
Weekly Ketchup: Hancock Sequel Script Started, Bioshock Scaled Back
We are firmly in the dog days of Summer, as Hollywood sneaks a couple of end of the menu horror movies into theaters, and movie news this week came to a near standstill. There... More...
August 25, 2009:
Columbia Hires Hancock Sequel Scribes ![]()
Looks like Peter Berg's recent comments about a "Hancock" sequel weren't just idle speculation: Columbia has hired scribes Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara to write the script for a... More...
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