The idea sounds ripe: Will Smith, one of the screen's most engaging
movie stars, playing a surly wino of a superhero, making a mess of Los
Angeles as he comes to the occasional aid of those in need. But not
even Smith's charisma can mitigate the chaos that is "Hancock."
It depresses me to think of all the preteens who'll be sitting through
this, since it squeaked by with a PG-13 rating; the violence and the
general abrasiveness are a genuine drag. Then again, adults won't be
much better off. In this highly superheroic summer of "Iron Man" and
the forthcoming "The Dark Knight," "Hancock" can offer only an A-list
headliner in a D-list project.
The notion is that a vaguely self-loathing superhero, who spends his
days flying around Los Angeles and taking care of its
assault-weapon-toting vermin, suffers from self-esteem issues that
prevent him from being the best he can be.
Enter a public relations whiz (Jason Bateman), whom Hancock saves from
a collision with a train. The PR man, despite the protestations of his
wife (Charlize Theron), takes on Hancock as his latest project. The
flack makes Hancock, who doesn't know how he gained his special powers,
see the value in soft, non-destructive landings and the odd kind word.
Halfway through, screenwriters Vy Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan dump a
huge load of superhero backstory onto the movie's doorstep. Director
Peter Berg and his cinematographer shoot a lot of "Hancock" in gritty,
nausea-inducing close-up, and the effects -- aurally bombastic,
visually ordinary -- sit on the action in all the wrong ways. Why shoot
this film like an R-rated action thriller? What good does all the
nastiness do except to rough up an audience like a corrupt cop
interrogating a suspect?
Pro that he is, Smith doesn't dog a minute of it. He's such an
easygoing presence, he periodically humanizes the material. His name
alone may well ensure a profitable week or two for "Hancock." But like
"Last Action Hero" and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," this is a film
searching, desperately, for the right stylization and the right tone.
The sight gag destined to be the film's talking point involves a man
with his head rammed up another man's hindquarters. And if you don't
like hearing about it, don't let your kids see it.
MPAA rating: PG-13 (for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and
violence, and language). Running time: 1:32. 1 and a half stars out of
4.
