Hancock: Special Edition (2 Discs) (With Bonus Digital Copy)

Assuming you've seen the trailer, you'll know this is a film about a lazy super hero. What could have been a fun revamp of 'The Return of Captain Invincible' is little more than yet another mediocre comic book style movie, only played slightly more for laughs. Admittedly it's better than the lazy spoof movies, but like most Will Smith output it seems afraid to do anything different - and so for the most part is a waste of time.

The basic premise of this movie's storyline is quite simply ingenious - a superhero who is at worst despised and at best pitied by the people of his hometown, LA, because of his inept, crapulous attempts at crime-fighting and life saving, usually accompanied by collateral damage that's costing the city's taxpayers millions. So far, so good, and Will Smith is utterly believeable as the eponymous "hero", his performance, as usual, exceptionally good. For the first half of the film we are treated to a series of enjoyable and humorous scenes and even the appearance of Jason Bateman's failed publicist brings opportunities for more hilarity and great FX. But then the threadbare plot reveals itself with a vengeance, introducing a really mangled and quite frankly ludicrous romantic strand. With negligible character development, it is impossible to understand the players' motivations or lack of/inappropriate emotional responses. The film bumbles along without improvement until it reaches its weak, risible and unsatisfactory conclusion. Oh and by the way, the so-called "twist" is given away in the menu clips, so don't watch them too closely. Another example of why stars shouldn't produce their own movies, perhaps.

After some of the disasterouse reviews some of the critics gave this film, I was expecting this to be a bomb like Smiths 1999 effort The Wild Wild West. To be honest although not perfect, I found this film to be a refreshing spin on the super hero movie. The script is funny, and smart, but don't be fooled by thinking this is full of eye scorching action sequences, although what there is are all very impressive, with some great CGI. The film scores on it's darker elements and works best when Hancock is fueld by booze. The cast are great, Bateman is as good as always, and Theron is always good eye candy, but again shows she is a very good actress. But the films real saving grace is as always Will Smith, he balances the comedy and the darker elements perfectly, and it's easy to see why he is one of the biggest stars on the planet. This two disc version is the version to buy, as it contains an extended cut of the film, which really does improve on the cinema released version, as the film cantains slightly stronger action and language, but also a few extended scenes that add more to he film. Director Peter Berg (The Kindom) has directed a great crowd pleaser, that will never be known as the greatest film ever made, but will know doubt please Will Smith fans, and also hopefully spawn a sequel or two.
Very Good!

Better than I Expected.
Read some very negative comments about this film. Had the opportunity to watch the film and I enjoyed it.
The story line was good and most importantly different and new. The special effects were good and there are some very good twist and turns in the film. The humour and acting by Will Smith was thoroughly enjoyable to watch.
Go see it.

Watching the advert got me excited to find a comedy that had action with a main character teenagers could probably relate to being lazy, cool and the idea that no matter what you do, you just can't get it right. However, after the first half an hour of many funny moments, it got into the plot and lost the comedy and as an audience being introduced to a new person, we were never given the opportunity to explore the real identity of Hancock himself. Hancock's personality and emotions were never thoroughly conveyed and this led to it being less humorous and more of an almost half-hearted cheesy action/romance which, although can be enjoyable, wasn't. The plot was exciting and surprising for ten year olds and was hugely disappointing. Overall it was watchable but not worth an overpriced cinema ticket. The first half an hour has to be noted as very funny, but the only impressive contribution throughout the whole film was the very impressive animation.