Hancock

Hancock

Directed: Peter Berg
Starring: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan

Synopsis: A lone superhero who has a drinking problem and causes more damage when he tries to do good.

Will Smith comes barreling into the movie as drunk superhero Hancock that people seem to think is more of a nuisance than a hero. He causes so much damage to the city when he comes in for a crash landing and ripping up the pavement or impaling a car of bad guys on top of a needle nose building, that everyone has to pay for his recklessness. It is an interesting premise for the superhero genre that hadn’t been explored before, but I felt it was wasted.

All the recklessness is a set up for when Jason Bateman’s PR guy comes into the picture. He knows that Hancock has to turn his image around, which he does, but there was no trial and error. I expected there would be time spent with him trying, messing up, trying again, and some kind of montage to show him working it out. On his first try, he wins everyone over and becomes a big hero. It all seemed rushed.

I guess this was done so it could explore the other storyline that isn’t given away in the trailers, but I found that storyline odd. It could have been weaved into the other storyline, but it seemed separate, like an afterthought. I would have rather the movie stick with the original premise shown in the trailers.

My main irritant with the movie though was the extreme close ups. Almost every shot was a close up of someone’s face. It was unnecessary and overwhelming. That makes more sense for a conversation movie compared to an action movie. I think I could have overlooked some of the weak storylines if I was up in everyone’s face.

I wasn’t expecting a great movie, but thought it would be a lot more fun. The fun parts were too short and the close ups were in almost every frame. I can’t imagine what this movie would be like on an IMAX screen and I don’t want to think about it.

Rating: C+

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