Hancock

While it’s hard to deny the ineffectiveness of both Peter Berg’s directorial choices and the film’s final half hour, Hancock primarily comes off as an engaging and thoroughly innovative spin on the superhero genre – with Will Smith’s admittedly impressive performance certainly ranking high on the movie’s list of positive attributes. The storyline – which follows alcoholic superhero John Hancock (Smith) as he reluctantly allows a struggling public-relations expert (Jason Bateman’s Ray) to mold him into a traditionally heroic figure – has essentially been crafted to act as an origin story for the central character, yet screenwriters Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan brilliantly ensure that Hancock rarely apes the conventions and tropes that one has come to expect with such a tale (ie one doesn’t entirely realize that they’re watching an origin story until everything’s been said and done). It’s subsequently not surprising to note that the inherently fascinating premise effectively compensates for the relentlessly unappealing visuals, with Berg’s reliance on shaky camerawork and rapid-fire editing testing one’s patience virtually from the minute go and ultimately lending certain sequences an all-but-unintelligible sort of vibe. The uniformly strong performances and inclusion of several darkly comedic interludes only cements Hancock‘s initial place as a far better-than-expected big-budget endeavor, although there’s little doubt that the film’s momentum takes an almost catastrophic hit following an out-of-left-field twist that occurs at the 54-minute mark. The unpredictable nature of Hancock‘s third act is rendered moot by its comparatively uninvolving modus operandi, as Ngo and Gilligan essentially transform the proceedings into an entirely different animal – one that is, unfortunately, not even remotely as compelling as its precursor. The end result is an uneven piece of work that’s at its best in its opening hour, which is as thrilling and engrossing as anything the superhero genre has cranked out in recent years.

*** out of ****