Smith's signature blockbuster
By Phil Villarreal
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.01.2008
Hancock is the FEMA of superheroes. He doesn't always show up on time for rescues and isn't as helpful as you'd hope he'd be once he gets there.
Played with sneering indifference by Will Smith, the three-day-stubble-wearing, skullcap-donning, bender-breath-fuming strongman battles bad guys with the utmost reluctance. And when Hancock leaps into action, he's nonchalant about causing millions of dollars of damage to public property in the process.
He fights for truth, justice and the American way only if it happens to be convenient on the way to a liquor store and when there's nothing good on TV.
And the action comedy, a biting satire of superhero mythology and the comedy that results from its real-world applications, makes you love the guy for his brutally logical demeanor.
Even being more powerful than locomotives and leaping tall buildings in single bounds can get to be same-old, same-old. Why, Hancock reasons, would you need to add to the pain and ostracism that come with being a hero by wearing garish spandex or coming up with a moniker that sounds as though it were conjured by a third-grader?
Directed by guy's guy director Peter Berg ("Very Bad Things," "Friday Night Lights") "Hancock" shreds the fabric of comic book culture. For once we see a film that shows the implications of being a flying, steel-bending strongman.
When Hancock flies off, he leaves a nasty pothole in his wake. When he grinds a train to a halt to save a guy stuck on the tracks, the cars bunch into an unwieldy mess. When Hancock scoops up a damsel in distress, he has to reel off a disclaimer that there's nothing sexual about the ways he'll be touching her as he spirits her off to safety.
In a summer of phenomenal comic book flicks ("Iron Man," 'The Incredible Hulk," "Wanted"), "Hancock" finds its niche by teasingly mocking the standbys while refusing to copy them. Hancock's battle is not with some scheming villain, but with that all-powerful opponent known as public perception.
After Hancock saves the life of P.R. maven Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), Ray helps Hancock change his image, coaching him to be more delicate and demure. Ray also persuades Hancock to serve jail time for prior offenses until a desperate public starts to miss him. Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), grudgingly tolerates Hancock's presence, hiding a secret connection she has with the hero. Berg has some fun with Hancock's brash interactions with the sheltered suburban family.
An unnecessary sea-changing twist in the middle of the film derails much of the momentum but at least gives the popcorn-light story a reason to go on longer than an hour. Not that an Independence Day action film with Will Smith needs much of a reason.
The undisputed king of summer action gives you exactly what you'd expect. Steady thrills and chuckles along with an inconsequential plot that disappears like fireworks fading into the night sky are Smith's signature.
â—Ź Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at pvillarreal@ azstarnet.com or 573-4130.
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