Hancock - In cinemas July 2008 - Sony Pictures Home Ent. UK

One of the best movies of the summer!

I suppose its all a matter of taste. It appears that people who have seen this movie fall into two distinct camps. I have to admit that I am a big Will Smith Fan and find him superbly entertaining no matter what he does (Wild Wild West excepted of course!) so that's a good start to proceedings. I am also a Jason Bateman fan and cannot fault the casting of Bateman here.

I agree it's not a complex plot, but the action is good, the effects are good and the acting superb (excepting Ms Theron of course). On top of that it delivers a little emotion (manages to make you care about the characters) and some 'good ole' feelgood factor (distinctly lacking elsewhere this summer).

Its a 12A with some adult language. I found this just about OK for my 11-year-old but I am not too sure about suitability for younger kids.

My kids and I really enjoyed it. Hope they make a sequel!

Hancock

Amazingly entertainment, shame it was no longer, but, non stop action and thrills!
It truly is the best action hero adventure EVER!

One Of The Best Superhero Movies, Ever.

I think I may have used that term lightly there, but it's something I think can really be applied to Hancock. This movie has been written since 1996 and has been passed from director to director until we finally got the finished product this year.

Hancock is an alcoholic superhero who's fallen on bad times and seems unable to do any right. He tries to help those in need but always seems to make things worse. Ray Embrey is a corporate PR consultant who's struggling to sell his All-Heart logo which represents companies banding together to try and change the world. While on his way home, Ray is caught on the train tracks and is faced with an oncoming freight train. At the last minute Hancock steps in and saves Rays life, but it's at a cost of a couple of million dollars. The public turn on Hancock for the mess he's made but Ray steps up and defends Hancock. After being taken home by him Ray offers to help Hancock become a better man and be the superhero he's destined to be. Hancock decides that in order to make his life better he must take Ray up on his offer. Before he can become the superhero he's destined to be, he must first go to prison to pay for the collateral damage caused by Hancock's negligence.

This has received a lot of criticism by people saying it seems to lose its way at about the half way point of the movie. I have to agree, but that doesn't mean it becomes a bad movie because of it. It started off as a comedy and seemed to end as a fantasy drama. The action scenes made up for the change as they put most recent comic book movies to shame. Along with stunning special effects and at times very witty and what would be called adult humour, they blend together well to make some spectacular scenes. I can't really say too much about the biggest action sequence as it gives away what becomes the focal point of the whole movie, just know that it's awesome.

This is Will Smiths 7th number one movie and is something that he should be immensely proud of. Hancock is also a film that has furthered the cause of naming Will Smith as one of the most diverse actors in the industry. I have loved all his movies to date, and Hancock is no exception. If you're a fan of comic book movies, action movies or just a general fan of Will Smith, then I promise you will love this.

Amazingly disappointing

When you saw the trailers for this, what did you think? I. was. excited. I mean pee-my-pants-excited. Just thinking about it made me go "Eeeeee!" And the first 50 minutes or so absolutely delivers. In spades. And then it gets ridiculous, and crumples under the weight of its own mythological jumbledness.

Will Smith is typical Will Smith... I don't think it's possible to dislike that man. (Scientology scariness notwithstanding.) Jason Bateman is a joy - he's another one who can do no wrong. Charlize Theron... meh. Ya know? If you like her, she'll make you happy. If you're indifferent, she's definitely the weak link cast-wise because she's simply not believable as a god. She can pull off irritated housewife; raging deity, not so much. That being said, she doesn't actively damage the film.

No, that's all down to the plot. It loses itself when it tries to introduce a deep, wildly complex since-time-began mythology, and here it trips itself up. Completely. I mean, really, it just falls on its ass and thrashes around whining that it has fallen over and can't get up.

It also stops being funny. Truly, weren't you expecting a comedy? That's certainly how they portrayed it in the trailers - but it's really not one. It's like 2 films in 1. The first one lasts about 50 minutes, and it's awesome. The 2nd one starts afterwards, and it's shockingly bad. Bad enough to lose Hancock 3 of its stars.

I do think it's worth a watch, because some of the effects are remarkable, and the "first" movie is fab, but please go in knowing it's not what you expected it to be, and once the credits roll, you'll be left feeling a little bewildered and very, very disappointed.

Dear, dear me!

We went to see this film knowing nothing about it at all. Big mistake! This film just proves there is no accounting for taste. How some of the other reviewers can talk about 'comedy' or 'plot' is beyond me. There were a couple of humorous lines - but we left the cinema thinking "why on earth was this film made?" It certainly is NOT a comedy - it certainly IS a complete waste of time. Shame on you Charlize!