Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Hancock, finally that word is in a major film title

If Hancock came out in the 90's, it probably would have kicked ass. However, this is 2008 and this movie really feels forgettable even as you're watching it. I did like a few of the comedy aspects such as the drunk flying looking a little wobbly (on purpose) and the YouTube footage of his past exploits but the constant 'Who am I' plotline got a little old, fast. Superman is iconic and he always will be. Hancock is some drunk-ass super powered guy who I'm never going to connect to in that way in an hour and a half movie. If Superman gets hurt, you care and it's worth a few moments of quiet contemplation but Hancock (who himself gets hurt at one point, despite being invincible) is just some guy I just met and hasn't earned 14 minutes of slow motion awe. I get it, he got hurt, oh my god, he's always been impenetrable, yeah, I can see he's taking twice as long to realize what I figured out in two seconds, don't make me go on the thought process journey with him if he's that dumb, just cut to the next shot, please.

Even when we find out a little more about Hancock's origin, which I didn't see coming, I still didn't feel connected to the character at any point. There was a unique idea thrown in but other than that, I had the movie figured out within 15 minutes. I knew how it was going to end and I was right on the money. The villains, if you can call them that, are just the old campy villains from the old Adam West "Batman" tv show from the 60's, disguised as modern day thugs. Give them a moment of pause and they'll explain their entire origin and even explain how you should be feeling at that given moment, based on the series of events that have unfolded.

I like and trust Will Smith to do smart or entertaining films and with this one, he went for entertaining. I did enjoy myself but will most likely not watch this movie again or buy the dvd. Too many long pauses where I'm supposed to feel what the character is feeling ate up most of the run time and I was almost begging for the credits to roll during what I was disappointed to find to be the 'climactic action sequence'. The first 3/4 is better than the ending.

3 comments:

Jonathan said...

I wanna see this one. I didn't read your review though. I don't want to ruin it. Rental or theatre?

Conor Chambers said...

i havent heard anything good about it except for things concerning will smiths acting. and the whole 3/4 good thing ending bad is exactly what i'd say for Be Kind Rewind.

Jeff Penner said...

Jonathan, you just fall asleep during movies, so I'd say renting it is much safer!