It's been months since trailers appeared in theaters, tantalizing viewers with Will Smith as an antihero with a taste for recklessness. We've laughed as he throws a beached whale into the ocean, only to take out a boat. We've laughed as he's stopped an impending train wreck...only to cause a train wreck. We've ignored the whiskey on his breath and waited on the edge of our seats for July to come around and deliver us a brand new superhuman blockbuster.
Well the wait is up; Hancock has arrived. And guess what? He's not as super as we hoped.
The problem with Hancock is that it just doesn't live up to the hype. The trailers have led us to expect sarcastic humor, thrilling action, and a take-no-crap lead from a proven actor. Well, there's sarcasm, and a couple action sequences, but Hancock is more apathetic than anything else. What's worse, the "call me that name one more time and you'll regret it" mentality that Hancock uses for most of its gags (and is perhaps the only original aspect of the character) is a mentality that Hancock's mentor Ray (Jason Bateman) seems to feel inclined to get rid of.
Hancock, then, can be added to the list of films that pretty much give you everything in the trailer that might have interested you in the movie, and then drags you through the same gimmicks over and over again until it's no longer funny when someone calls him an a**hole. It's become the only appropriate word.
The one thing that can be said in Hancock's favor is the major reveal; that is to say, who or what is causing the tornadoes and massive destruction we were given a glimpse at in the previews. Peter Berg deserves a nod for keeping that a secret, even if it is the only surprising part of the whole movie.
I suppose if the idea of someone shoving someone else's head into a third person's anal crevice is the sort of thing that makes you roll out of your seat laughing, you'll enjoy Hancock. But if the devil-may-care, screw-this-i-want-a-pint attitude was already making you question Smith's latest endeavor, feel free to steer clear of this one.
Will Smith proved he has acting chops in last year's I Am Legend. You won't find the same quality here. Unless maybe you've been knocking back a few bottles yourself right before you go.
