A hangover gone bad
What happens when a superhero loves the bottle more than a cohesive plot
‘Hancock’
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron
Rating: PG-13
Grade: 2 Globes
REVIEW. Much like Pixar’s “The Incredibles,” “Hancock” takes the comic-book superhero and jams him into the real world of today, where daring rescues can cause millions of dollars in damage if you’re not careful. Such a setting has left Hancock (Will Smith) a misanthropic drunk, derided as a menace by the public he works so hard to save. It’s a great premise, and a welcome tonic to the onslaught of summer comic-book movies.
Few actors could pull off a lead character as cantankerous, anti-social and profanity-prone as Hancock and still come off as charming, but Smith does so with ease. Hancock, as the movie reminds us over and over and over, is an asshole. In fact, the word is uttered so many times in the movie — first by an adorable moppet — that you start to wonder if the producers were hoping to inspire a drinking game.
It’s while Hancock keeps hitting rock bottom that the movie excels. Even as he reluctantly takes the advice of Jason Bateman’s publicist in rose-colored glasses and tries to better his tarnished image, Smith keeps Hancock squinty and short-tempered — not a drunk so much as permanently hungover. But after a few special effects set pieces and some poorly telegraphed surprises, the movie goes off the rails, deciding to give up on the whipsmart action comedy it started out as in exchange for something new: a superhero romantic drama.
The cast can’t be faulted, as Smith, Bateman and Charlize Theron do their best to elevate the material. Bateman in particular shines, his starry-eyed optimism serving as the perfect foil to Smith’s cranky pessimism. But as the filmmakers try to shoehorn in backstory revelations and dramatic twists, the story unravels and the plot holes and lapses in logic leave you stammering, “But … but …”
Other problems plague the movie, as well. A sloppily created villain (Eddie Marsan, criminally wasted) doesn’t so much discover and exploit a weakness in the hero as he does unwittingly show up at the right time.
What we’re left with is either a summer blockbuster that moves too slowly between action sequences or a moody drama with too much bombast and casual humor. And yet, Will Smith emerges unscathed. A superhero, indeed.