Hancock
Director: Peter Berg
Staring: Will Smith Charlize Theron & Jason Bateman
Theatrical run-time 93 minutes
Hancock is a bit of an anti hero or anti super-hero. Something Hollywood has not been comfortable dealing with in the past. They want clean cut, truth justice and the American way super hero. Watchmen might have been a try at that, but then you had the driven almost psychopathic or sociopathic mentality as in the Batman motif, but, a true I don't give a rats ass superbeing? That is just too close to the bone. And I am not talking about a rough edged Wolverine I mean hard drinking, do what I want, don't care about the consequences kind of thing. That's Hancock. Hardly ever seen without a bottle in his hand. Yeah he can fly and is super strong, but destruction and mayhem are the rule of the day. Even though he catches the bad guys, he is on the very fringe of society, society is disgusted by him and often openly loathes him. Even in his most private moments, its clear that he clearly isn't human and doesn't fit anywhere. Being the only one of his kind doesn't make the situation any better.
Hancock has no memory of who is is or his life any further back than 80 years ago when he awoke in a hospital critically injured, where soon after he awakes, invulnerability and immense strength started manifesting itself.
Jason Bateman play a public relations person who devises a plan to change the public image of Hancock which leads to some of the movies funnier moments. Charlize Theron plays Bateman's wife but without giving away too much, is so much more and one of the pivot points of the movie.
Hancock's ending is as close as Hollywood comes to producing an unhappy or untidy ending. Hancock doesn't get what he thinks he really wants, but finally realizes that he gets to do the thing he loves doing best... but given that it's Will Smith in the title role, even that ending is watered down with the trade mark grin into the camera before the smart Alex one liner...oh well.
Now lets talk about special features!
This movie (even though I rented it and didn't get the 2 disk dvd) was jam packed with snipets and movie shorts, comments and behind the scenes. This really shows the value of the dvd format over the defunct VHS format. This is as you know for me a serious value added. If I just wanted to watch the movie I would download it from the rental but if I am going to buy a hard copy I want more than a couple of languages and commercials. Hancock adds that value.
The movie has many things going for it. The special effects are good, the writing is much better than basic formalistic with action that doesn't lag and character development that holds your interest.
I would give it a good solid 8 recommended viewing.
Director: Peter Berg
Staring: Will Smith Charlize Theron & Jason Bateman
Theatrical run-time 93 minutes
Hancock is a bit of an anti hero or anti super-hero. Something Hollywood has not been comfortable dealing with in the past. They want clean cut, truth justice and the American way super hero. Watchmen might have been a try at that, but then you had the driven almost psychopathic or sociopathic mentality as in the Batman motif, but, a true I don't give a rats ass superbeing? That is just too close to the bone. And I am not talking about a rough edged Wolverine I mean hard drinking, do what I want, don't care about the consequences kind of thing. That's Hancock. Hardly ever seen without a bottle in his hand. Yeah he can fly and is super strong, but destruction and mayhem are the rule of the day. Even though he catches the bad guys, he is on the very fringe of society, society is disgusted by him and often openly loathes him. Even in his most private moments, its clear that he clearly isn't human and doesn't fit anywhere. Being the only one of his kind doesn't make the situation any better.
Hancock has no memory of who is is or his life any further back than 80 years ago when he awoke in a hospital critically injured, where soon after he awakes, invulnerability and immense strength started manifesting itself.
Jason Bateman play a public relations person who devises a plan to change the public image of Hancock which leads to some of the movies funnier moments. Charlize Theron plays Bateman's wife but without giving away too much, is so much more and one of the pivot points of the movie.
Hancock's ending is as close as Hollywood comes to producing an unhappy or untidy ending. Hancock doesn't get what he thinks he really wants, but finally realizes that he gets to do the thing he loves doing best... but given that it's Will Smith in the title role, even that ending is watered down with the trade mark grin into the camera before the smart Alex one liner...oh well.
Now lets talk about special features!
This movie (even though I rented it and didn't get the 2 disk dvd) was jam packed with snipets and movie shorts, comments and behind the scenes. This really shows the value of the dvd format over the defunct VHS format. This is as you know for me a serious value added. If I just wanted to watch the movie I would download it from the rental but if I am going to buy a hard copy I want more than a couple of languages and commercials. Hancock adds that value.
The movie has many things going for it. The special effects are good, the writing is much better than basic formalistic with action that doesn't lag and character development that holds your interest.
I would give it a good solid 8 recommended viewing.
2 comments:
I enjoyed this movie also, and it's in my collection. It got very little attention when it was first released at the theater, and was quite a bit of a sleeper in my opinion, but I found it highly entertaining!
Jeanna, Yeah, I have to agree, the press really did ignore the theatrical release. Now that we have been introduced to the major players, I wonder how faithful the next movie will be. It has already been cast, but other than that, I know nothing about it.
Post a Comment