The highlight of “Hancock” is not contained within its sloppy 93 minutes, but comes during the previews in the form of the saliva-inducing trailer for “The Dark Knight.”
I tried to keep an open mind ““ “Hancock’s” star Will Smith is the Fresh Prince of July Fourth blockbusters after all. But, it was headed downhill before it began, and even though Will Smith moderately entertains with his general likability, the utter ridiculousness in an off-the-wall plot twist and its subsequent ridiculous ending render “Hancock,” well, ridiculous.
The film opens with John Hancock (Smith) slumped on a bench in our very own downtown Los Angeles, appearing to be nothing more than just another drunk homeless guy with a wicked hangover and wicked sarcasm.
But there’s more to Hancock than his impressive power to clutch onto wayward bottles of whiskey ““ he’s a superhero!
We’re first introduced to Hancock’s powers ““ which include brute strength, a bulletproof body, the ability to fly and a remarkably snide delivery of corny one-liners ““ as he involves himself in a high-speed chase against Bad Guys who did something Bad.
This scene might have been OK if the sound track had scrapped the song “Move Bitch” by Ludacris as Hancock soared over the 101 Freeway. (Really, music directors?)
However, the public perceives that Hancock’s heroic endeavors often cause more harm than good, and the fact that his breath reeks of aforementioned whiskey can’t be good for his image either.
But the “harm” seems to only be inflicted on infrastructure, raising the question: Shouldn’t people prefer that a robber/murderer/child molester be stopped in exchange for some traffic congestion?
This apparent dilemma is just the first of several puzzling scenarios in “Hancock” that expose its overall inconsistencies.
But before that web tangles further, we meet Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), the director of a public relations firm who wants nothing more than to humbly change the world.
On his way home from work, Ray nearly gets pummeled by an oncoming train, but just like in those Olde Timey silent movies where the hero saves the girl tied up on the train tracks, Hancock swoops in and saves him.
Ray, being the bubbly do-gooder that he is, invites Hancock over for a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with his family (including Charlize Theron as his wife Mary) in a scene that is at least mildly funny, if only for Hancock’s brash whiskey-swilling.
Seeing some nugget of potential in Hancock, Ray turns him into his new PR project ““ surely with a makeover Hancock can win over the hearts of Angelenos?
It all makes sense, with some decent jokes and good acting by Smith and Bateman. Even the initial premise is original.
But an absurd plot twist totally ruins the rest of the movie and monopolizes the audience’s attention.
There is much promise of a Will Smith action/comedy/explosion-fest, but “Hancock” fails to live up to any such glory.
The Nancy Grace cameo doesn’t help either.
““ Devon McReynolds
E-mail McReynolds at dmcreynolds@media.ucla.edu.