Movie Review: Hancock

So, my summer of superhero movies continues as I went to see Hancock. I really wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. The premise sounded like a promising one, and Will Smith is always entertaining, but the review have been a bit mixed. Rotten Tomatoes has it rated at 37% on its Tomatometer, meaning that the majority of the critics were not kind to the film.

After seeing the film, I have to admit that my own feelings on it are mixed as well. I'll say upfront that, overall, I enjoyed the film, I just felt it wasn't as good as it could have been. The movie starts off well with Hancock the drunk screw-up of a superhero we've all seen in the ads. And as he starts down the road to redemption with he help of the Jason Bateman character everything is humming along smoothly. I thought the scenes in jail worked pretty well, other than some questionable physics in how Hancock deals with a pair of hostile fellow inmates. Then, after Hancock has his first adventure as a proper superhero, the wheels start to come off. There's a revelation at this point about Hancock's origins and nature, which I won't spoil here, that just was not particularly satisfying and relied a little too much on coincidence. And so, through the middle of the film, I started getting a bit restless. The narrative was losing me, and that was a shame as there was a lot of talent up on that screen. Then we got into the third act, and the movie started to win me over again. Yes, they were still dealing with the ramifications of the earlier revelations, but I didn't care anymore. The stakes had been raised and the movie seemed to be moving forward with a purpose again. I was once again entertained.

So, the movie began well; it ended well; it just got a little muddled in the middle. Overall I'd say that there was more of it that I enjoyed than there was that I didn't, still it was a mixed bag.