HANCOCK [review]
Remember there are spoilers... in fact, the whole movie is spoiled
Okay, it has to be completely obvious by now. I adore Will Smith. He's my favorite actor and I love the image he has in Hollywood (minus the whole Tom Cruise friendship, he's just shady). I love his family. I love his movies. And most of all I love his personality. His versatility is amazing. Comedy. Romantic Comedy. Action. Science Fiction. And now... the Superhero genre.
I made the mistake of reading the reviews before seeing the movie on my own. I never do that. And obviously there's a reason for this particular process, because it makes me a defensive viewer. The reviews for this movie are not particularly good, although they credit Will Smith as saving the movie, if only barely.
Here's the thing. The movie starts off with Will, as John Hancock, drunk and passed out on a public bench while a police chase airs on the local news in the window of an electronics shop. Some random kid wakes him up and points out the 'bad guys'. When Hancock fails to jump up and run to the problem immediately the kid walks away calling him an 'asshole' (and the kid can't be older than 10). Within the next two minutes he's called an asshole yet again before he lifts off to end the police chase, destroying public property and racking up a nine million dollar bill in the process. He's unappreciated, people wondering if his help is worth the hefty financial cost and the fact that he often has alcohol on his breath. He takes off too fast and causes damage, he lands worse and when he saves Jason Bateman's character from an oncoming train he does more damage by stopping the train than he would have with the more logical choice of lifting the car straight up.
Soon everyone is on Hancock's ass. The police wanted him arrested. Nancy Grace (whom I hate, crazy bitch) is calling him out on national television. The citizens of San Fran want him gone. Even his new PR agent, Jason Bateman, has a hard time convincing his wife, Charlize Theron (who is called both Angel and Mary throughout the movie), that Hancock isn't a lost cause. Mary begs her husband not to take this bum superhero on as his one and only client, scolds Hancock for calling her son 'kid' instead of 'Aaron'.
After he's convinced to spend a few weeks in prison by Ray Embry (Bateman) and submits to a sort of forced rehab stint and anger management course while there. Even though Hancock can leave at anytime (he can crash through walls and fly over fenses) he stays as a 'PR move' cooked up by Embry in order to force the people of San Fran that they really need him. Two weeks later he gets the call from the chief of police and dons his new superhero costume (which he protested again, but Embry insisted). He's seen as a hero suddenly and heads out on the town with Ray and Mary to celebrate.
After a night of drinking and confessions of the fact that apparently Hancock is a superhero with amnesia. He explains that 80 years ago he woke up in the hospital after a head injury and couldn't remember who he was or what happened. The I.V. needle broke off on his skin and his head healed up in a matter of hours, astounding doctors. He says that no one ever came for him and that he got his name after being asked for his 'John Hancock' when leaving the hospital.
The plot twist of the movie comes after the celebratory night out when Hancock tucks a drunken Ray in and heads downstairs. He talks with Mary a moment and they share a kiss. She responds by throwing him against the fridge, through a wall and a couple hundred feet into a rather expensive looking car, destroying the front of the house. Hancock gets up to ask the obvious question but is threatened, warned against telling Ray.
The next day he blackmails Mary into an explaination and she shows up at his 'place'. The two argue and when asked what they are he's told they've been called many things "gods, angels, and now, suddenly, superheros." The explanation is that they are built in pairs, there used to be many of them but the rest died out. After calling her 'crazy' they begin to fight. Mary calls tornados and the elements while slamming a semi-truck into Hancock after he refuses to take it back.
The pair are eventually caught in what seems very much like a lover's quarrel. Then the whole story comes out that they were paired up and are technically husband and wife. And when they are around each other their powers go away and they become mortal. They have been together for thousands of years and each time they nearly destroy each other.
Hancock is what she refers to as 'the insurace policy of the gods' keep one alive to save the world. He's a demi-god that was created to save people.
I really like it. It wasn't an average super hero movie. There was no toxic radiation. No mutant spider. He didn't come from another planet. Even though Bateman's character suggested all of these like a little kid that collected comic books. He was thousands of years old, a demi-god that could relate back to Greek Mythology. I could even argue that there were many similarities between the character of Hancock and the mythological character of Hercules, who was a demi-god also. A lot of the same gods and demi-gods appear in different mythologies around the world.
I have always wondered what the Greek myth would be for why there are no longer Gods and Goddesses, that the majority of the world believes in one god, no matter what the religion most of them place their faith in a single god instead of purpose-specific gods (and goddesses) of ancient/classical mythology. I have always wondered exactly how mythology ended. Did they gods and goddesses fade away over time or was it one of those events that happened due to an order given by the ruling power. It often happened in ancient times that whatever the ruler's belief was, it was enforced upon his people.
Anyway, I like the concept of the this movie, and even thought there have been reviews that say that it was executed poorly, I think that it was fine. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it.
Here is Hancock at The Internet Movie Database
Okay, it has to be completely obvious by now. I adore Will Smith. He's my favorite actor and I love the image he has in Hollywood (minus the whole Tom Cruise friendship, he's just shady). I love his family. I love his movies. And most of all I love his personality. His versatility is amazing. Comedy. Romantic Comedy. Action. Science Fiction. And now... the Superhero genre.
I made the mistake of reading the reviews before seeing the movie on my own. I never do that. And obviously there's a reason for this particular process, because it makes me a defensive viewer. The reviews for this movie are not particularly good, although they credit Will Smith as saving the movie, if only barely.
Here's the thing. The movie starts off with Will, as John Hancock, drunk and passed out on a public bench while a police chase airs on the local news in the window of an electronics shop. Some random kid wakes him up and points out the 'bad guys'. When Hancock fails to jump up and run to the problem immediately the kid walks away calling him an 'asshole' (and the kid can't be older than 10). Within the next two minutes he's called an asshole yet again before he lifts off to end the police chase, destroying public property and racking up a nine million dollar bill in the process. He's unappreciated, people wondering if his help is worth the hefty financial cost and the fact that he often has alcohol on his breath. He takes off too fast and causes damage, he lands worse and when he saves Jason Bateman's character from an oncoming train he does more damage by stopping the train than he would have with the more logical choice of lifting the car straight up.
Soon everyone is on Hancock's ass. The police wanted him arrested. Nancy Grace (whom I hate, crazy bitch) is calling him out on national television. The citizens of San Fran want him gone. Even his new PR agent, Jason Bateman, has a hard time convincing his wife, Charlize Theron (who is called both Angel and Mary throughout the movie), that Hancock isn't a lost cause. Mary begs her husband not to take this bum superhero on as his one and only client, scolds Hancock for calling her son 'kid' instead of 'Aaron'.
After he's convinced to spend a few weeks in prison by Ray Embry (Bateman) and submits to a sort of forced rehab stint and anger management course while there. Even though Hancock can leave at anytime (he can crash through walls and fly over fenses) he stays as a 'PR move' cooked up by Embry in order to force the people of San Fran that they really need him. Two weeks later he gets the call from the chief of police and dons his new superhero costume (which he protested again, but Embry insisted). He's seen as a hero suddenly and heads out on the town with Ray and Mary to celebrate.
After a night of drinking and confessions of the fact that apparently Hancock is a superhero with amnesia. He explains that 80 years ago he woke up in the hospital after a head injury and couldn't remember who he was or what happened. The I.V. needle broke off on his skin and his head healed up in a matter of hours, astounding doctors. He says that no one ever came for him and that he got his name after being asked for his 'John Hancock' when leaving the hospital.
The plot twist of the movie comes after the celebratory night out when Hancock tucks a drunken Ray in and heads downstairs. He talks with Mary a moment and they share a kiss. She responds by throwing him against the fridge, through a wall and a couple hundred feet into a rather expensive looking car, destroying the front of the house. Hancock gets up to ask the obvious question but is threatened, warned against telling Ray.
The next day he blackmails Mary into an explaination and she shows up at his 'place'. The two argue and when asked what they are he's told they've been called many things "gods, angels, and now, suddenly, superheros." The explanation is that they are built in pairs, there used to be many of them but the rest died out. After calling her 'crazy' they begin to fight. Mary calls tornados and the elements while slamming a semi-truck into Hancock after he refuses to take it back.
The pair are eventually caught in what seems very much like a lover's quarrel. Then the whole story comes out that they were paired up and are technically husband and wife. And when they are around each other their powers go away and they become mortal. They have been together for thousands of years and each time they nearly destroy each other.
Hancock is what she refers to as 'the insurace policy of the gods' keep one alive to save the world. He's a demi-god that was created to save people.
I really like it. It wasn't an average super hero movie. There was no toxic radiation. No mutant spider. He didn't come from another planet. Even though Bateman's character suggested all of these like a little kid that collected comic books. He was thousands of years old, a demi-god that could relate back to Greek Mythology. I could even argue that there were many similarities between the character of Hancock and the mythological character of Hercules, who was a demi-god also. A lot of the same gods and demi-gods appear in different mythologies around the world.
I have always wondered what the Greek myth would be for why there are no longer Gods and Goddesses, that the majority of the world believes in one god, no matter what the religion most of them place their faith in a single god instead of purpose-specific gods (and goddesses) of ancient/classical mythology. I have always wondered exactly how mythology ended. Did they gods and goddesses fade away over time or was it one of those events that happened due to an order given by the ruling power. It often happened in ancient times that whatever the ruler's belief was, it was enforced upon his people.
Anyway, I like the concept of the this movie, and even thought there have been reviews that say that it was executed poorly, I think that it was fine. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it.
Here is Hancock at The Internet Movie Database