Hancock
(2 votes, average: 2 out of 5)
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You know how it is, when they suck you in by putting all the best bits in the trailer, so that when you get to see the movie you find there’s nothing very much left in there to surprise you. And when the movie feels like it wasn’t a whole lot longer than the trailer, well, you’ve got problems. Hancock was a bit like that. There was enough material in there for a reasonable short story, but that’s about it, so by the time you’ve finished re-watching all the flash fx scenes they crammed into the trailer, it’s all over and you’re thinking, “Was that it?” Of course, most superhero movies will spend a sizable chunk of their runtimes on the story of the hero’s origins and this one dispenses with all that, courtesy of giving their hero a dose of amnesia. Good move, except in theory that should have made room for even more story. It does have one surprise in store, in the shape of an almost mythological love story, but in saying that much I’m afraid I may have given it away and so it’s quite possible anyone who has seen the trailer and read this review will be left with nothing. Will Smith is reasonable, but is a bit of an - as everyone calls him in the film - “asshole”, so it’s tough to find any sympathy with his character, and you have to make do with being amused and/or mildly entertained for the hour and a bit duration. The film also suffers a little from context, in that once upon a time an attempt to root a tale of superheroes firmly in the real world might have been original, but these days it’s practically de rigeur, a key ingredient of the genre: even the more outlandish caped crusaders and Marvel creations get the real world treatment as a means of seasoning the fantasy with that extra measure of credibility. And if that wasn’t enough, on TV we have Heroes and, for all that he throws whales with a casual ease, Hancock is no more remarkable than the cheerleader, the time-travelling Samurai or the flying ex-politico. My advice, if you feel a need to watch any kind of Hancock, choose Tony. Hancock’s Half Hour is, as the title suggests, shorter, but these slices of classic comedy will keep you more thoroughly entertained.