Academy Award® nominee Will Smith (Best Actor, The Pursuit of Happyness, 2006) stars in this action-packed comedy as Hancock, a sarcastic, hard-living and misunderstood superhero who has fallen out of favor with the p... more »ublic. When Hancock grudgingly agrees to an extreme makeover from idealistic publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, Juno), his life and reputation rise from the ashes and all seems right again--until he meets a woman (2003 Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron, Best Actress, Monster) with similar powers to his and the key to his secret past.« less
Expected so much more from Will Smith but in the end, this fell short and flopped.
Deborah J. from SAN ANTONIO, TX Reviewed on 8/13/2011...
New twist to a superhero story. Liked the twist.
0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Susan V. from OJO CALIENTE, NM Reviewed on 7/19/2011...
Funny and serious, touching and ridiculous by turns. One of Will Smith's funnest movies to come out in recent years.
A constantly drunk and disorderly superhero, he causes more damage to city property than his heroic efforts are worth. He feels he is the only one of his kind on Earth and the loneliness is crushing him. Then he saves an ordinary man, a dreamer and somewhat idiot, from death by train. A simple invitation to dinner starts o change everything.
Movie Reviews
The Only One of its Kind
Eric M. Milillo | West Islip, NY | 11/18/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Hancock (Will Smith) is not your garden variety superhero. He's more like your garden variety bum. He spends most of his day sleeping on benches and drinking booze. When duty calls, he awakens from his drunken coma, bottle in hand to stop the wrong-doers. If there's a lesson to be learned here, it's not to fight crime drunk because it costs millions in property damage and public outrage. Luckily for Hancock, somebody wants to help the poor guy. Cue Ray (Jason Batemen) a publicist who vows to change the superhero's image in exchange for Hancock's saving his life.
The first half of "Hancock" is chock full of crude humor and the superhero doing his worst at being the best. It's thoroughly entertaining and will provide plenty of laughs. The second half of "Hancock" is about the superhero in the spotlight, but this time he is depicted as a "true" superhero and the public begins to recognize him as a positive figure. The second half is what makes or breaks the movie for viewers. Why? Because of the unexpected twist in the plot.
While I won't reveal the plot twist, I will say that it will leave people feeling divided. Some will probably think it is incredibly clever and others will believe it's sheer silliness. In my opinion, it's both clever and silly at the same time. Either way you look at it, "Hancock" is an original movie...the only one of its kind. The only superhero movie that does not have to be strict to a source, i.e. a comic book, to appease fans. It is also extremely entertaining. Everything from the CGI to the performances make this movie interesting and above all, unique. "Hancock" is definitely a movie worth watching."
Entertaining! Will Does His Thing!
TenderT | California USA | 11/02/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Quick and easy: Will Smith does a great job. He has grown as an actor. This movie is entertaining. There is drama, action, romance, comedy, violence, and some unexpected language and situations that are not exactly little kid friendly. HANCOCK takes real life situations and shows the struggle and growth to overcome them. It's about taking responsibility, taking charge, and making a change when change is needed. I liked it, and because I am always looking for a positive message in a movie, this movie gave me what I wanted by using a serious situation in a dramatic yet amusing way. Others found quirky faults with this, but hey, it's a SUPERHERO MOVIE for goodness sake."
Will Smith Can Not Be Stopped
Keith A. Jones | Philadelphia PA | 12/01/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I read some reviews when Hancock came out in theatres. Most of them gave it mixed ratings but there were some 3 star ratings like I saw here on Amazon.com. I can't tell you enough how much I disagree. There have been so many to take a comedic shot at superhero films but they are usually either Ok or just plain bad but not this one. Anywho, Hancock is definitely a great film, so great that I could not wait to stamp a 5 star rating on it and tell ya why but first I'll tell you what it's about.
Will Smith stars as John Hancock, a loaner, alcoholic,and depressed superhero. Of course those are definitely not characteristics you want to see in the man that has superman like powers like Hancock. The story goes that Hancock woke up one morning in a hospital, he didn't know his name, birth date, or if he had any family or friends. By now you can imagine how he got that name of his, a nurse asked him for it and he thought it was his name. He only knew what the doctors told him, that he was hit on the head trying to stop a mugging. Through the years he hasn't really tried to become a perfect hero or even a good one at that but he does the minimum.
Hancock wants to be loved but acts as if he doesn't care and this is when Ray (Jason Bateman)comes in. After being saved by Hancock Ray thinks of a way to recreate Hancock to give him what he wants, to be loved by the people. The both of them set out on a mission to do this but this movie is no doubt deeper than the surface. Things get more dangerous and the plot twists just enough to become one of the best dramatic comedies about a superhero I have ever seen.
First of all I think that Will Smith is one of the few actors that could take a film like this and make it so good. Good job by the writers as well for giving it a good comedic feel but keeping it a little realistic and never going over the edge. Smith did a great job, he made you think that Hancock could actually be real and he was hilarious doing it but still did great with the dramatic scenes. The rest of the cast was also good, I really liked Jason Bateman in "The Kingdom" and he did well here but Charlize Theron definitely shined the most out of the supporting cast. She and Will Smith had some great scenes together and made it believable.
The action scenes were very cool, great special effects and seeing Hancock flying like a new baby bird with arms and legs flinging all over was hilarious. One thing I thought that could have been improved were the fight scenes. There were definitely a few but it was just a lot of flying around and crashing into buildings. Had they added a bit of choreography it would have been on point for sure. Because the films acting was executed so well I can't really take a star for this cause it wasn't significant but was still noticeable.
The story was great and I have to admit that I had the film thought out all wrong. I loved the way they make it look like this sort of cool comedy but it starts to run a little bit deeper towards the end. It is not a huge jaw dropper but the twist is still cool, at least to me it was. Overall, I loved the movie, I think Will Smith is no doubt one of the greatest actors to do it. The films concept was definitely awesome and thought out and executed well. The story was written well also and the cast was picked nicely, not too much action, not too much comedy, and not too much drama. It was just right and it definitely showed. I wouldn't recommend this as a family film unless your all over 15 but it is definitely a must see. The empty Blockbuster stores definitely showed this."
Superhero with Superhuman Attitude
Girl Interrupted | United Arab Emirates | 01/08/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The one thing that stands out about this movie is the story-line. We have gotten used to the superhero story-lines; every superhero is lonely and has a weakness, the twist in this movie is Hancock's weakness. I will not give away the movie but his weakness is unlike any of the other superheros.
The special effects are not great and lack creativity. The acting is good, Will Smith does his thing and although i had no idea that Charlize Theron was even involved in this, her brilliance comes up in her subtlety, not to mention she looks absolutely stunning.
All in all good movie and fun to watch."
BIG SURPRISE
El Officianado | Florida, USA | 12/28/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A big surprise is the only way I can describe this movie. I never bothered to pay attention to it when it first came out. After all, Will Smith an action super hero? Men in Black, okay; I Robot, okay; I am Legend, okay too; but super hero? However, my wife's sister rented it for us to watch during the Christmas holiday. I was amazed at the great job Smith and Theron did in this movie. This is a great super hero acton movie with an intelligent plot. Yes, you heard me, an intelligent plot. Not just a bunch of gratuitous action thrown together, but a well thought out and creative story. A crime fighting super hero with strange super powers and a twist. In addition, let's just say he is challenged by a bottle with a cork. It is not my intention to summarize the plot of this movie and I will not do it here. Many reviewers have already done so. Suffice it to say, it is well worth watching, and adding to one's DVD collection."