Thoughts on...Hancock

So, today, I found myself, after a delicious Fazoli's lunch with KittyMarie, Husband and Fuller, with a dilemma. Do I feed my Madden addiction even more...

...or watch Hancock, which was coming on BTV, the local movie channel here at Purdue. I went with the latter because I didn't feel like getting my ass handed to me again until later tonight, after I got my studying done.

Hancock for those who don't know, is the story of...well...Hancock, played by Will Smith, who is a superhero who doesn't care about saving people. He's the only one of his kind and he therefore has become a misanthrope, hating humanity and not caring about the way he is perceived in the public. Enter Jason Bateman, who plays the PR expert who actually wants to save the world and sees Hancock as the perfect way to do that.

When it was coming out last summer I was really looking forward to this for a number of reasons...

1) Jason Bateman. I love the guy, anything he's in. Hell, I'm halfway tempted to watch Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium because he's in it.
2) Peter Berg. This guy has directed some killer movies. The Rundown. Friday Night Lights (He also came up with the kickass TV version) The Kingdom. And, one of the most underrated films ever Very Bad Things.
3) Will Smith. Yeah, I still like him. Sue me.
4) A different take on a superhero story. I'm such a movie geek and a comic book geek that when something new is proposed, I'm sure to at least give it a try.

But, alas, I was disappointed by the film, to say the least. It took a really weird shift halfway through and then never really followed through on it. It felt like maybe 20 minutes of the movie was missing somewhere and, while all of the questions were answered, I would have cared a whole lot more if the lost time had been in there somewhere.

I'll put the spoiler below if anyone cares Highlight it if you want to know.

Charlize Theron plays Bateman's wife. But, she is also a superhero who is fatefully matched with Hancock. They've been together for thousands of years.

So, in the middle of this comedic take on a superhero, all of a sudden, things take a really weird and serious turn.

I think the reason I and so many people didn't respond as well to the movie was that we were not expecting this twist and shift in tone. It was jarring. You couldn't respect the second half of the movie because you felt like you had been hit by a truck.

But, alas, on today's second viewing, I felt a whole lot better about the flick. Sure, I still wish the twist was developed a little bit more after it was dropped on us, but, honestly, the movie works.

So, what's the moral of the story? Watch Hancock again, if you have already. And if you haven't, check it out with this in mind: don't go in with anything in mind about what's going to happen. Just let it happen. I hope you'll be glad you did.