It’s Day’s night, and no one is going to spoil her story
A Sentimental Journey
Film
This is a shocking, replenishing film, not to be missed
Green Zone
Restaurants
It is great that Bruno Loubet is back — and at prices that are eminently fair
Bistro Bruno Loubet
The action and direction are superb and the acting good, but the plot is so pathetic it defies belief
Wonderful - beautifully acted and gloriously funny, particularly Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw
Probably the most important photography exhibition london has ever seen
London,
Charlotte O'Sullivan's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Peter Berg.
Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
Description: With great power comes great responsibility... not that living, breathing superhero Hancock cares a jot. As the one and only saviour of Los Angeles, Hancock begrudgingly rescues beached whales, thwarts bank robbers and helps to maintain peace on the streets of the City of Angels, except that his headline-grabbing exploits always seem to result in more damage than good. Drunk, belligerent and deaf to an ever-growing chorus of public dissatisfaction, Hancock goes about his daily business, including rescuing PR guru Ray Embrey from an early grave. As a thank you for saving his life, Ray vows to restore faith in this misunderstood superhero.
Country: US. 2008. 92mins
Fallen angel: superhero Hancock causes mayhem on the streets of LA
City guy: Will Smith is a hero with a hero with a difference
Hancock stars Will Smith as a sozzled and lonely superhero whose half-arsed attempts to save his chosen city - Los Angeles - invariably cause mayhem.
As feisty as he is loaded, Hancock refuses to wear a uniform, talk in PR clichés or tip his hat to the multinationals. An onlooker declares that LA should sue him for all the damage he's caused in the line of superhero duty. "Ha," slurs Hancock, looking his obese accuser up and down. "you should sue McDonald's, 'cos they've fucked you up!"
This is not the kind of language you expect from caped crusader types. or, for that matter, a family-friendly summer blockbuster. In director Peter Berg's last movie, Saudi-set thriller The Kingdom, he tried to marry populist thrills with political nous. Think of this revisionist take on the comic-book genre as round two of an ongoing battle.
As part of Berg's multi-layered attack, we get not only Hancock, but his apparent antithesis: a happily married PR man called Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), who invites our hero home and sets about relaunching his image.
"It's not a crime to be an asshole," Ray explains earnestly. "But it is counterproductive."
The twist is that, in his own way, Ray is just as subversive as our cynical hero. His big idea is to get corporations to rebrand their images by donating free food and drugs to Africa. And, of course, it's not easy. on the way home from a business meeting, he calls his wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), and admits he's not having much luck getting greedy businessman to turn over a new leaf.
Generous, smart and naive, Ray has something of It's a Wonderful Life's George Bailey about him. Meanwhile, Hancock, his fallen angel, can't take his eyes off the perfect Mary. And she, for some mysterious reason, is desperate to keep him at arm's length.
So far, so interesting. not all the jokes work, and there's an over reliance on Hancock's snarling catchphrase, "Call me asshole one more time..." But Bateman is a charming presence; Smith is less grinny than usual, and the off-the-cuff CGI effects work neatly within the shabbily poetic urban landscapes. There is also an inspired section in which Hancock takes a trip to jail. (He encounters all the smalltime crooks he's put behind bars: musclebound Hispanics, blacks and Asians. The dregs of society, it turns out, are men who look just like him.)
The trouble is, we're about to get hit by a "revelation". To say more would give too much away but the results are farcical. There we were, on course for a serious movie about a black superhero. Instead, we wind up with an extremely violent, hifalutin battleofthe-sexes-cum-neverendinglovestory that only the recently lobotomised will be able to make sense of.
Hancock, a film with an exceptionally troubled production history, was perhaps never going to be a thing of beauty. But did it have to be such a mutant monster, a film guaranteed to scare off both Smith devotees and leftfield punters alike? not a bird. not a plane. Superflop.
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Lucy, I'm with you, girl!
I'm a bit gobsmacked to find that the general consensus seems to be fairly negative about the film; still, upon reflection I think that some of the things that I enjoyed are maybe things that other people disliked.
I like comic book heroes as much as the next girl, but what I really enjoyed about this film was the way that it WASN'T sticking to the conventions of the genre - either in cinematography, characterization or plot development. I liked the fact that we didn't get handed a cheesy Origin Story to account for his powers - in fact when we do get a glimpse of his backstory it becomes clear that part of the reason he's so rubbish at being a superhero is that he is something else entirely. I was delighted by the twist, which I really hadn't seen coming, and by the way that they DIDN'T make the Mary/Hancock thing into a Big Doomed Romance. She's turned her back on that, whilst he can't remember it - and, sure, there's some lust between them, but what's much more important is that she provides a link to his past.
This isn't a generic superhero movie, not in any sense. It's a film about a lonely, bitter guy who gradually finds purpose, self-respect and friendship - and beyond that it's about choices. Mary's choice. Ray's choice. Hancock's choice.
Plus - it's funny. But it's also surprisingly subtle and understated at times - it doesn't spoon feed you everything, and it doesn't tie up every single little loose end. I think that's a strength.
- Nic F, Bangkok, Thailand
I am a huge Will Smith fan. Hancock was about as good as Wild Wild West! Plot was uninspiring, the twist while intriguing, never made any true sense. Worst though was the ending. Just didn't add up to what it was being built up to be. But my number one, mindboggling question is: What superhero doesn't have a supervillian? And who was it in this film? Everything goes away if this was made as the first of some sequels.
- Triple D, Dallas, USA
Lucy,
Sorry but I think your a little deranged. Just saw the film and honestly left the cinema rueing the fact that I wasted 2 hours of my life while I could have been doing something less excruciating such as pouring hot oil down my trousers.
Bizarre story line which didn't add up in the slightest. Ridiculous love interest and worst of all... just plain boring!
Los Angeles must be a little warped.
- Don Marr, London, UK
Hancock is a very good movie. It is not your typical Superhero movie, if you want that go see a Disney movie.
Instead Hancock is a Superhero for adults (my 7 year old liked him too and does not appear to be psychology scarred by the cursing and homophobic comments), he's not all smiley and cavalier and over-polished like Superheroes in other movies. Hancock is drunk a lot of the time, doesn't speak proper English, curses, and he has no problem disciplining wayward kids or judgemental old ladies. Cool, I love it when a Superhero is not a Wuss!
The movie has good action, good humor, a little bit of mystery which develops nicely into a surprising twist and a very good ending.
I'm not sure what the deal is with critics that rated this movie so poorly, all I can say is they're wrong. Go see the movie, you won't be disappointed.
I enthusiastically give this movie a B+!
- Lucy, Los Angeles, USA
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