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Not your father's superhero: When Hancock responds to trouble, he usually gets his guy, but the question is at what cost? He causes millions of dollars worth of damage in his quest to catch the bad guys, and when the city finally realizes how much he is costing them, they prepare to arrest him.But one of the last people he helps happens to be a down-on-his-luck PR man named Ray (Jason Bateman). Ray is about to be squashed by a train when Hancock lifts him out of the way and, despite the fact that Ray is safe, there's a lot of damage elsewhere. When the crowd reacts angrily to Hancock saving Ray's life, the plan is hatched; Hancock needs an image makeover.
At Ray's suggestion, Hancock heads to jail to start showing the community what they are really missing. But will anyone care that Hancock is no longer around to stop the bad guys? Can Ray effectively make Hancock a beloved member of the community?
"Hancock" is a typical summer film.
You have the big name headlining the film in Will Smith.
You have the big-time summer release date, over the Fourth of July holiday.
You have the fun supporting cast with Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron.
You have some really cool action sequences from a solid action director in Peter Berg.
But you have a sketch story at best, and that brings this film back down to Earth.
I'm not going to spoil it for you, but if they had just a normal back story instead of the twist-laden plot, this film would have been head and shoulders better than it was.
That said, Smith, Bateman and Theron do their best with what they are dealt and I'm becoming a big fan of director Peter Berg's style for this type of film (he did the underrated film "The Kingdom" last year). Some great talent is at work, and it shows both in front of and behind the camera.
Hancock has got a way to go to become Iron Man or the Hulk, but for a quick respite from the summer heat, you could do much worse. If they do the inevitable sequel, I just ask for a better screenplay.
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