Hancock (2008)

Hancock. Suffice to say that for all it's worth, i believed that Hancock works rather well (if one didn't want to call it passable) largely because Will Smith's star power whose performance is probably, in my opinion, one of his strongest performance yet.

John Hancock (Will Smith) is a misanthrope, an alcoholic, and a downtrodden man with a 'small' case of superhuman powers. High-speed flying, indestructible body, ultra-powerful punches and kicks, John Hancock has all the ingredients to become a famous superhero who stands in the line of goods against evils. But as the tagline of this film aptly said, "There are heroes. There are superheroes. And then there's John Hancock", John Hancock fall somewhere between a superhero and an "asshole". The public despised him so much that on one occasion, when Hancock allegedly held the bad guys but causing the city a damage worth US$ 9 mills., LAPD Chief himself said (it's not exactly what he said IN the film, just a rough approximation from my part), "We don't want him here, he can chose to destroy New York or wherever instead of this city" He kept on his sullenness and negativity toward society until he met a struggling PR Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), who then promises to made the public aware and ultimately appreciate what Hancock is capable of.

However, when Hancock met Mary (Charlize Theron), Ray's wife, one could very easily deduce by the mere fact that it's Charlize Theron - one of the prominent working actress today who played Mary - herself that Mary and Hancock promises some twist some backdrop to the overall "depressed Superman" -theme that has actually, in my opinion, going on superbly during the first half of the film.

I'll be bold by saying that no one could came up with an exact reason of why does Will Smith is almost associated with a box-office success. He was an actor whose name and season of summer combined meant only one thing for the film industry, "MONEY!" It's just plain fact. "Hancock", despite of the flaws it suffers, certainly noticeable during the second half, is another proof that Will Smith is still a Money-magnet when it comes to movies.

Hancock is clearly a two-part films squeezed into one. Arguably (if you asked me, at least), the first part of this film was more superior than the second in almost any aspect imaginable. In the first part, we see John Hancock as a miserable anti-hero at best, or a despicable bum at worst. Fortunately, Will Smith's persona made its viewers actually rooting for him to get things right on track and that's why it could be comfortably said that Hancock works largely due to Will Smith in reins. Thus, the first part of this film is probably responsible for most of the impressions left of this film to its viewers. It's funny, and entertaining.

The second part is where Mary, whose name alone threatened to stole the spotlight from Hancock from the very first eye contact came into play. I've heard that this film has undergone much surgery in the editing room for its producers wishes to aim for a "PG-13" rating. Rumor has it, that this film was submitted thrice before finally receives a "PG-13" rating. Therefore, i guess that the jumbled and sometimes incoherent second part of this film is the result of this surgery.

Albeit some of the scenes in the second part still retains the entertaining quality from the first part, i wouldn't be surprised if many among the audiences questioned some part of the plot. Myself, as i've always favored a dark and gloom ending, the way Hancock chose to wrap itself leave me with a frown and a "meh". Clearly, the ending was heavily influenced by the producer's decision and the original ending was more dark and gloomy IF there's an alternate ending, that is. Hopefully.

My rating: **1/2 / **** - It's actually a kind of film where you could have a good time, a few good laughs, but totally forgot about it the second you move your ass from the seat.