Silly comedy, superhero drama. Review on Hancock Movie

I have been a fan of Peter Berg since I was a kid, thanks to Shocker, and as a director he is even more impressive. Every film he has made has not only been good/great, but also one of the best examples of their respective sub-genres, thanks to his ability to take a story that has been told a hundred times (“two guys who don’t like each other have to team up”, “sports team fights their way to the big game”, etc) and approach it from a different angle than other filmmakers might have.

But here he comes up with some disappointing stuff for a Berg film. Also, I don’t see how a film with two of the most effortlessly charming actors of our generation (Will Smith and Jason Bateman) and one of the most ridiculously beautiful women in the world (Charlize Theron) should have been anything BUT pure entertainment.

Smith plays John Hancock, an alcoholic, irritable, and burnt-out superhero who technically protects Los Angeles (the film appears to take place in the ‘real world’, where Batman and Spider-Man are fictional) from every day criminals.

The new trailer spoils the 2nd half of the film, I won’t do that here, only to say that a ‘twist’ occurs halfway through that you will hate. It’s a tonal shift , , the film simply seems to be traveling in circles, and at the end of the day, the film is about three characters.

It’s Peter Berg’s biggest budgeted film and yet typical well-worn material. The film is all about big action spectacle and other than Hancock himself, there’s nothing really marketable.

In the end, the movie is simply about three people learning to accept their entwined roles in life, set against the backdrop of a big budget superhero movie.