In a sentenceThe drunken superhero is good company until somebody decides he needs explaining
John Hancock (Will Smith) is a hard-drinking superhero whose behaviour makes him an awkward candidate for the job. His powers allow him to perform heroics, but his drunken antics leave little room for the manners expected of a public saviour. Ray (Jason Bateman) and Mary (Charlize Theron) enter the story of a man whose abilities far exceed his self-control. Hancock faces the problem of doing good while remaining difficult company, with action and unruly behaviour repeatedly getting in each other’s way.
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Will Smith gives Hancock a funny, disagreeable hero and Peter Berg gets an entertaining opening out of him. Then murky explanations crowd out the comedy, leaving a good cast struggling with a poorly joined-up story.
For its opening stretch, Hancock is a funny, agreeably rude superhero comedy; taken as a whole, it is a promising idea poorly followed through. Peter Berg understands the appeal of a hero whose drunken behaviour makes him unsuitable for the usual duties of reassurance and good example. The trouble comes when the film loses confidence in that simple attraction. At 92 minutes, it has little room to recover from its changes of direction.
Will Smith is the chief reason to stay. His John Hancock has enough charm to make the nastiness entertaining, without sanding away every disagreeable edge. We laughed at the drunken antics because Will Smith makes the hero’s lack of dignity look so unforced; the powers do not make their owner any less embarrassing. There is a small amount of sadness in the performance too, and the opening comedy gives it room without insisting that we notice.
Jason Bateman’s Ray is an important part of that balance, earnest and sweet without seeming entirely foolish. He gives the comedy someone who does not need to compete for the rudest line. Charlize Theron makes Mary worth watching even when the writing becomes less convincing, and her scenes with Will Smith carry feeling that the plot does not always deserve. The cast can suggest complicated lives with less effort than the screenplay takes to explain them.
The action has pleasures too, chiefly in effects that suit the early irreverence. Tobias A. Schliessler’s shaky photography is harder to defend: it supplies extra agitation where the action is busy enough already. Neil Spisak’s production design gets little help from a camera that seems reluctant to let us look around. Peter Berg keeps things lively, but a steadier view would let more of the visual jokes do their own work.
The cutting by Paul Rubell and Colby Parker, Jr. keeps the film moving, although moving quickly becomes a poor substitute for making sense. As the tone changes, there is too little time to settle into what the characters are now supposed to feel. John Powell’s score has to support that move towards seriousness, and it cannot make the transition convincing on its own. A little more time with the characters might have helped.
Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan’s screenplay asks us to accept a substantial change of direction, which we will not describe. The problem is how much explanation follows, and how little that explanation helps. The murky mythology takes attention away from a central character who was interesting enough before the film began accounting for him. We became impatient with the solemnity because it kept displacing the comedy that Will Smith and Jason Bateman had made work.
Within the superhero genre, this is an appealingly awkward starting point, and we would not demand that it remain a comedy throughout. We would ask it to make the serious passages as convincing as the jokes, which it does not. The performances give the curious something to enjoy, but we cannot recommend the film on their strength alone. For Will Smith completists, there is plenty to enjoy before the explanations begin.
The reviews lean towards mixed and negative, though most critics find something to enjoy in Hancock’s irreverent superhero premise. Praise centres on Will Smith, whose charisma and barbed comic performance give the disreputable hero appeal even when the story falters. The early comedy is a recurring strength, with several critics enjoying the drunken antics and rough humour. Supporting performances and effects also earn approval, though neither attracts the same consistency of praise as Smith.
The main complaint is that the promising opening gives way to muddled storytelling, with shifts in tone, murky mythology and rushed plotting weakening the film. Opinion nevertheless spreads widely. The New Yorker finds emotional resonance in Smith and Charlize Theron’s performances, while The AV Club welcomes the unusual combination of comedy, action and tragedy despite its imperfect fit. Less persuaded critics regard that same mixture as incoherent, particularly when the comedy gives way to melodrama.
Denby finds Hancock a surprisingly resonant and highly enjoyable summer spectacle. He especially praises Will Smith and Charlize Theron’s performances and the emotional charge between them.
Read the full review →Robinson finds Hancock an original, daring mix of superhero action, comedy, and tragedy, though its pieces do not entirely add up. She praises its lively humor and heroics, along with the surprise of seeing a familiar superhero genre take an unexpected turn.
Read the full review →The critic’s verdict is unavailable because the review text is behind a paywall. The accessible page does not reveal what the critic praises or criticizes.
Read the full review →Ebert finds the film entertaining at first but increasingly muddled as it goes on. He praises its irreverent humor, while faulting the story for losing focus.
Read the full review →The review is moderately positive, enjoying Will Smith’s turn as the disreputable superhero. It singles out the inspired comedy of Hancock’s drunken antics as a strength.
Read the full review →Farber finds the film uneven, with a promising comic setup that gives way to muddled storytelling. He praises Will Smith’s charisma and acting, alongside the strong supporting performances and eye-catching effects.
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Super · not reviewed yetAnother badly adjusted would-be hero, with harsher violence and fewer consolations.
The IncrediblesSuperhero duties collide with domestic frustrations in a much more disciplined comedy.
Colossal · not reviewed yetDrinking and destructive behaviour acquire monstrous consequences, with more attention to character.
The Return of Captain Invincible · not reviewed yetA disreputable superhero gets another chance, with songs complicating his rehabilitation.
They Call Me Jeeg · not reviewed yetAn unlikely hero finds that new powers do little for old habits.
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