A fun, fairly crisp opening hour gives way to a muddled, entirely unsatisfying ending.
Comment
10/18/08
Hancock (2008)
40
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:210
Fresh:84
Rotten:126
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Though it begins with promise, Hancock suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution.
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,... [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan
Director: Peter Berg
Reviews for Hancock
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.
10/18/08
Top CriticIt's let down by a disappointingly uneven plot, painfully underwritten characters and dodgy effects.
07/18/08
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.
07/04/08
Top CriticYet because it's Smith, you know that Hancock can't be all bad, and as the film spends the next hour trying to rehabilitate him, proceedings slowly starts to fall apart.
07/02/08
Yet because it's Smith, you know that Hancock can't be all bad, and as the film spends the next hour trying to rehabilitate him, proceedings slowly starts to fall apart.
07/02/08
Flashy and funny, but extremely uneven, this superhero action comedy lets its gifted cast stroll through a series of ill-defined characters
07/02/08
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.
07/01/08
Top CriticA strange but cool comedy.
07/01/08
Director Peter Berg mounts a special-effects extravaganza that's very boring indeed, and doesn't quite deafen us to the inadequacies of the script, while Smith pretends to be a grumpy git but, naturally, winds up begging us to love him.
06/30/08
Sadly, the bar is set too high and the movie implodes under the weight of its own ambitions.
06/26/08
Top CriticKicks into tired oh-it-sucks-to-have-superpowers territory and opens up a can of racial issues it has no intention of investigating
08/26/09
I have no problem signing on to recommend this. Get it? Signing on...John Hancock... nevermind.
08/03/09
A few actors such as Clint Eastwood, marry substance and popularity. But very few. Most actors' egos lead them to slum in the box office. I'm reminded of this often when a major, talented actor opts for popularity instead of substance when the latter beck
02/01/09
...an engaging and thoroughly innovative spin on the superhero genre...
11/28/08
What an odd movie!
11/21/08
The strain of messianism in Will Smith movies is becoming ever more pronounced.
10/18/08
This is a different take on the superhero genre with an interesting, offbeat twist.
10/18/08
Click to read the article
10/18/08
Top CriticA relatively satisfying ending that leaves just enough of an opening to warrant a sequel if the box office receipts are right.
10/18/08
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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