Pass Me That Bottle (Hancock (DVD))

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	Hancock (DVD)
Date:	14/03/09 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: OK to pass away a boring evening

Disadvantages: Too many holes in the storyline

FILM REVIEW ONLY
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Released as a summer blockbuster in 2008, this movie starring American actor Will Smith as an alcoholic superhero promised much but came up way short on the delivery.

The movie grossed high figures at the box office both in the USA and worldwide, but this was probably due to the pre-release hype from producers Sony and a considerable dearth of any other quality movies to give it any competition.

The story was written by screenwriter Vincent Ngo way back in 1996 when he decided to write a yarn about a superhero loosely based on his childhood hero Superman but to give him a few more human touches and make him somewhat less than infallible. The script was picked up and refined by TV writer Vince Gilligan, and the result was certainly a superhero who you could hardly describe as a role model for the American dream.

Hancock suffers from amnesia after walking up one day in a hospital bed with no recollection of his past life. He becomes a drunken down and out, falling asleep in an alcoholic stupor on park benches and living in a ramshackle hut overlooking the city. He has no friends and when he does attempt to use his superhero powers he invariably causes much more damage than the criminals and low life's he is attempting to stop or apprehend.

Enter Ray Embrey, a struggling advertising executive and PR guru, who after a run in with Hancock and a freight train decides that the errant superhero could use a little makeover to improve his public image. This allows the romantic lead to be introduced to the movie in the form of Ray's stunning wife Mary (Charlize Theron) who for some strange reason doesn't seem to warm to Hancock in the slightest. But there's more to Mary than meets the eye (although Theron is a true looker) as soon becomes apparent as the movie progresses.

Hancock was an interesting theme for an action movie, and although Will Smith does his best with the part and raises more than a few chuckles, the film just doesn't seem to get off the ground. (Hancock does though, as he flies through the air with the greatest of ease!) it could probably have benefited from a more experienced Director than Peter Berg, whose main work up until now has been in TV rather than film.

It also didn't help that the original cut of the movie was way too long, and thus it had to be drastically cut for cinema and DVD audiences. This results in a number of holes in the storyline that have you wondering did you nod off and miss something.

Over all I give this film 3 out of a possible 5 stars. OK to pass a evening away if you happen to catch it on a movie channel, but I wouldn't recommend anyone to rush out and buy the DVD.

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© KenJ March 2009

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Summary: An interesting idea for a movie that somehow didn't quite come off.