Review

Review Date: 6-July-08
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Hancock (2008)

I know this cannot be true of a July 4 blockbuster with one of the biggest stars on the planet, but it really seems like the studios ran out of money while making Hancock and decided to replace the explosive finale with minimal special effects, an abrupt and unexplained villain, and an injection of tenuous mythology. I am stating this up front: the ending is definitely strange. I am also stating that the entire movie possesses a strangeness in which the old and familiar feels new and refreshing, and that, combined with a trio of strong actors, makes Hancock an enjoyable experience.

Despite the fact that Will Smith's face dominates the Hancockian press, the story actually revolves around three people: a drunken, surly bastard with superpowers (Smith), a kindly PR agent who wants to save the world (Jason Bateman), and the PR agent's beautiful wife (Charlize Theron). What happens between them and the city of Los Angeles might not generate the charm it does were each character not so well cast. Smith works a stubbly pout and his not inconsiderable size (often hidden behind the nice-guy attitude) to portray a menace to both criminals and society who might — just might — possess a long-forgotten decency. Hancock can fly, lift automobiles with one hand, and survive bullets unscathed, but he only shows two faces to the world, one hostile and the other apathetic. "I will break my foot off in your ass" he tells an elderly woman who makes the mistake of staring at him, and chances are that he means it.

For his part, Bateman gets to wear his sweet, geeky boyishness on his sleeve. His character simply believes that betterment is possible, be it in the realm of global commerce or an individual's reputation. In gratitude for being rescued one day, he takes Hancock home to dinner and offers to help him clean up his act. Neither the visit nor the subsequent partnership pleases the optimist's wife, in whose breast Hancock seems to arouse a violent emotion. From the first she dismisses him as a bad seed with little hope of redemption, although she finds herself regarding him a lot.

Redemption is the key here, i.e., the restoration of Will Smith to his accepted persona as someone always welcome to dinner. (Of course this makes his early obnoxiousness especially amusing.) After a brief jail stint during which he has time to reflect on his faults and the city has time to miss him, Hancock emerges with a repertoire of courtesies and a new dedication to personal hygiene. He has acquired a hero's status, so it is time to give him a history. I will not spoil it for viewers who are clueless going in, as I was, and anyway I could not explain it clearly. Suffice it to say that love, sacrifice, and self-realization carry the day. And, I venture to add, that having three leads trying to do the right thing is heroic enough in the absence of cataclysmic explosions. Watching Hancock get his act together makes up for his movie being a tad confused.

Copyright © 2008 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.