Super-switcheroo

Hancock starts as a decent comedy
superhero movie but goes jarringly
wrong halfway through

by MARK SLUTSKY

Hancock wasn’t quite what I, and probably you, expected. The film’s marketing gives the impression that this is a redemption comedy in the Bad Santa mode, about a vulgar and mean-spirited—but ultimately golden-hearted—character who realizes that being good makes him feel better than being bad. And that’s part of Hancock, sure, but that description only really applies to the first half of the film, after which it turns into a completely different kind of movie.

Will Smith plays the title character, a bit of a change from the charismatic heroes he usually plays in these July 4th weekend tentpole movies. Or maybe he’s just playing the dark side of the cocky blockbuster movie hero. He’s a superhero—or at least a man with superhero powers—who, despite the odd good deed here and there, is despised by the public.

See, he’s also a self-loathing alcoholic who drinks in front of children, grabs women’s asses and tends to cause more property damage than he prevents, especially with his frequent crash landings.

Smith crosses paths with Ray (Jason Bateman), a P.R. guy who needs a big break and who realizes that he can get one by cleaning up the super-dude’s image. You would think this would be the whole movie, but about halfway through, there’s a twist that turns it into something else, as we dive into the hero’s back story and mythology. All of a sudden, we’re not really in a comedy any more, but a more serious-minded fantasy, and the change is jarring.

It’s also unsatisfying and raises many more questions than it answers. Though we find out more than we probably want to know about Hancock, we never get a sense of why he’s so bitter and mean-spirited, or at least never in a satisfying way. And that’s not the only thing left unresolved; questions like the identity of the villain who appears about three-quarters of the way through are left hanging.

Director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) can’t be entirely faulted here, as it’s clear that the script has serious problems. There’s the seed of an entertaining superhero movie here, but too many distractions from the good stuff.

Hancock is now in theatres

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