To Hancock, the World is a very scary place. He is scared of being the only one of his kind, destined to a life of solitude, ambiguity, and being the untapped resource of limitless power. He is scared of fulfilling his destiny, to be the God's savior and leader of humanity. He is scared of his past, uncertain and erased from his memory. It seems as though the only thing that Hancock is not scared of is having the general public hate him with an unbelievable passion.
While the flawed anti-hero Hancock's battle with himself may come out thin and diluted on the screen, Hancock boils down to this: An entertaining summer movie that is flawed with ginormous plot holes, but in the end is saved by great performances from it's main players. As everyone already knows, Hancock is played by a love-him-even-though-you-are-suppose-to-hate-him Will Smith.
As a depressed, alcoholic superhero, Smith is able to show a little Fresh Prince, mixed with a little Robert Nellville, and a side of Alex "Hitch" Hitchens. He has already proven that he is a bonafide star1 and he plays Hancock like a breeze in the park. His timing is spot on and I will laugh at anyone that is drunk on screen2. Smith's portayal as a super hero that is scarred of himself and who he exactly is is a theme that should have been more poignant.
After Hancock saves the life of a struggling PR man, the PR man attempts to fix the public image of a superhero who amasses extreme amounts of damage to a city and gives off an asshole complex from across the city. That PR guy, Ray Embrey, is played by Jason Bateman. You might remember Bateman from Arrested Development, Juno, and Teen Wolf Too. It is Bateman who is the real hero of this flick, bringing the everyman into the film and might be the only one on screen who gives a shit about the well-being of mankind3. Smith and Bateman really click when together on screen and both offer hilarious lines.
As Hancock and his nifty PR main start a campaign that will bring Hancock out of the dog house, the all-mighty curveball is thrown in, Ray Emrey's wife, Mary. Mary Emrey is played by Charlize Theron, the steampot, South African, uber-model turned oscar-winning actress. Let me be honest, Mary Emrey is by far the worst character in the flick, but Theron does the best with what is given to her. There is a point in this film (and that point being when the wheels nearly fall off the entire plot), that left me confused and a little disappointed involving her character.
It is the PR campaign that Hancock goes through that encompasses the best of the film. When the plot strays and goes into a weird, convoluted mythos extravaganza that involves "duels," amnesia and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" like plot lines, Hancock forgets the point.
When you go to this film, enjoy the Back to the Future like dialogue ("Call me an asshole one. more. time"), Will Smith working on his image, heads being shoved up asses, and the inner turmoil of loneliness. Forget about the "whaaaaaa???" moments and pointless twists.
