Hancock

Cool action scenes, great jokes, emotions, a strong love motif plus a cool Will Smith and a sexy blonde Charlize Theron in black boots... and unfortunately it all comes to nothing, like some sort of a mirage. Hancock is a potentially great and spectacular crossover of The Last Boy Scout and X-Men turned into the emptiest marketing bubble of 2008. Or a flashy pilot of a non-existent series. (2008-07-13)

I gave Hancock four stars without any issues. After all, it has almost everything that a proper comic book film should have, and thanks to the fact that the script is "glued" together from two parts, not even David Copperfield can predict the plot! As for the ending, one of the last scenes, during which the top-notch “Death and Transfiguration" song plays, made my eyes pleasantly moist.... (2009-03-23)

A somewhat shaky ride that doesn't really know what it wants to be, and Berg's obvious “I want to entertain the masses” direction bothered me a lot. Hancock is a classic flat blockbuster with Will Smith playing an atypical hero who initially emerges as a pleasant surprise, but eventually, due to a boring script, turns 180 degrees into the biggest flop under the sun. As a result the whole concept falls flat on its face and loses everything that was built in the beginning. It’s technically sophisticated, and impresses with wonderfully portrayed destruction of all possible buildings and means of transport, as well as very demanding composed shots that smoothly combe visual effects and reality. I must not forget the theme of love, which is unhealthily strong here and surprisingly sometimes rather detrimental. (2008-11-15)

Judging by the trailers, I expected an action flick full of foul-mouthed wisecracks and instead got the story of an alienated hero undergoing rehabilitation. Hancock reminds me of Smith's I Am Legend — both have incredible potential, but instead of using it, they take a different track. Not completely bad, just not as good. Fortunately, Will Smith is such an experienced actor that a lot of people will enjoy the film thanks to him, but the connoisseur will always find something lacking in the drunkard next door. Maybe this is the result of a rewrite of the script or retakes, but it doesn’t quite work. As for the rest of the acting ensemble, Charlize Theron is breathtaking and Jason Bateman is endearingly obsessed with the desire to save the world (I think he pulled off an even better performance than the great Will) and Michael Mann has an incredible funny cameo. A low four stars. (2008-07-31)

This is a movie that neither offends nor amazes. There are some pretty good ideas here, especially the first one with a superhero/vagrant, but it is then a little diluted in the typical plot, which still culminates in some surprise. Well-chosen actors give the movie something extra, which the audience will appreciate. A pleasant mainstream film that entertains. (2015-03-18)