This movie I have to say is one of Smith's better outings. Now it is no Independence Day or Men In Black but it is good fun. A little bit of an odd ending but it wasn't a terrible one. Overall it is just a fun little summer blockbuster. Plus, Jason Bateman did a great job in his supporting role.

B+

I think the one word that sums up Hancock is uneven. Light-hearted first half, dark second half. I also thought the action wasn't big enough for a typical July 4th blockbuster. With that in mind, Hancock (the film) is still likeable mostly thanks in part to the leads and the first half. It's not that I didn't like the second half, it's just that (as someone already mentioned) there's no "big" villian. As it's been said, a superhero movie is only as good as it's villian. And yet despite not having a strong villian, it kind of works. But with all of that being said, if there's not a more heavily edited film this year I'd like to see it. Once again, looking at each half of the film, it's night and day. The R-rated film is still evident somewhat in the first half and then it just disappears after he's in jail. Now I know the transformation (such a corny word for what I'm about to say) that Hancock takes in the second half you'd expect to see less of the brash Hancock anyways, but you can tell and editor was at work here.

In short, despite my complaints I kind of liked it. It should've been more though. Hopefully there will be an Unrated cut of this on DVD.

**½

IMO, a villain isn't necessary. I'd love it to have one, but I don't think it's necessary. Especially, with the storyline, the tone everything in the first half of this movie (who would be a 'villain'?). What I think would have made it better is, some highlight action sequence at the end, with no 'loosing power' storyline. Like something BIG happens, people in danger, and it will be stopped only with the combination of the two.

emm still doesn't sound great, but at least better than this final.

hancock

i got to see nothing but big time trailers:

day the earth stood still - showing too much already and looks excessive with visuals
batman - got my ticket for midnight
mummy3 - i will go see
james bond - looks pretty good to me


I enjoyed Hancock. I liked the movie and will smith and theron and bateman. His intro action sequence was fun. I did not like hearing that kid from the 401k type commercials. Ugh, he's sickening. The funniest was obviously the head in the butt sequence at the jail. There wasn't much of a villain to this but . I thought that was interesting. The final "battle" wasn't all the amazing but it was kind of dramatic and I really like the music during that sequence. Overally, I think it's a decent popcorn flick, a bit rushed, some good action, but will smith and theron were good in this film.

grade - B

I kind of loved it, actually. I thought it was incredibly fun and entertaining - the perfect summer popcorn flick. The running time was perfect and it didn't drag in the slightest, and I really liked all of the characters and the performances. I thought the action sequences were well-done and exciting, and most of the humor worked very well in the context of things. It's obviously not great art, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a blast. It's definitely better than last week's actioner Wanted, which is already overrated in many circles. B+/A-

uggh I just got a big plot point spoiled for me...

i know spoilers are allowed, but it'd be nice if people could wait until at least the first weekend is over; I just can't get out to the film today despite my curiosity as to what others think of it.

wow, even with lowered expectations, this was just BAAADD. Everything from the horrible opening sequence, to the special effects, to the dialogue, to the "dramatic" twist, to the homophobic humor. Ugh!

The only thing keeping me from giving this an F is Will Smith who actually is good in what is otherwise a horrible, horrible movie. The Happening can't be this bad, can it? (I need to see it)

I"m sorry

You hear it as its happening and watch the reaction of the other prisoners then are briefly shown the end result.

A word I might use to describe Hancock: "chaotic." The film is a scatter of fascinating ideas but doesn't really execute them well enough, so the movie is entertaining to an extent but ultimately extremely uneven. There's a clear undercurrent of studio interference running throughout this picture; much of it feels disjointed, like the audience has not been privy to a scene or two that would help the movie flow better (which, considering the rumors of the original R rating, is probably true). For its first 45 minutes or so, it's a really witty, clever, funny film. Will Smith's performance is strong and he makes Hancock an immediately vivid character. Once the film movies into "dramatic" territory and delves into some truly bizarre backstory involving Hancock's character, it becomes pretty silly. As I said before, Smith is quite good here, even able to convincingly sell some of the wacky things that go down later. Jason Bateman provides some laughs as a charming PR agent. The role of Mary is below Charlize Theron's considerable acting capabilities, but her performance is solid. That said, Theron's character has a lot to do with the weird turn the screenplay makes. I had an odd reaction to this movie, to say the least. If it had kept up with the solid comedy it provides initially, it would've been a memorable experience. But the poorly focused and actually rather strange developments the movie goes through in the second half do some damage to the movie's quality. C+

As I stated in the Crowd Reports, B, I enjoyed it. It's a chaotic mess with too many ideas but it was fun.

I'm gay and I didn't find anything in this movie offensive. There was one bit where Smith was calling other superheros homos, and while I didn't think it was funny, I didn't think it was homophobic either.

How often does it need to be said.

IF YOU DO NOT WANT ANY PART OF THE FILM SPOILED, DO NOT READ THE EVERYONE'S A CRITIC THREAD ABOUT IT.

The folks here are under no obligation to babysit you.

I'm allowed to be interested in what people thought of the movie. And again, when the first few days have passed, it's fine, because if I'm so curious I should see the movie myself, but on OD, not everyone can get out to a movie, but that doesn't change the fact that I really wanted to know people's take on the film.

I know that it's the forum rules, but it would be nice if, just for the first weekend of something big like this, people could at least put spoiler tags on.

It would have been a far better film without Charlize Theron. The twist involving her is very corny and forced and does the film no favors. And before the twist she has NOTHING to do but glower at Will Smith - I thought she was a one-note bitch, but then I realized it was, *cue dramatic music*, foreshadowing.

Still, Smith was very good. Another charismatic, engaging performance from him. And I LOVED Jason Bateman - he stole every scene and was incredibly fun to watch. And Peter Berg is a fantastic action director - love his use of hand-held photography and rapid-fire editing.

So there were definitely plenty of positive elements, but other parts fell flat (notably anything and everything related to Charlize and her character).

B-

basically agree - but I wasn't that bothered by CT - and because without her - Hancock would have never lost his powers - which made that fight more interesting - or would we have know his story.

so I think it would have been alittle boring if he never lost his powers.

I'm glad to say that the critics were pretty much wrong on this one. While it definitely has its problems (many of which are likely due to having to cut it down from its R rating), the film has all the laughs and charisma that a Will Smith movie should have, but what surprised me was how, just where people say things fell apart, I thought the film became more interesting. Smith's handling of a conflicted and layered character is really a sign that he really deserves his blockbuster status as an actor - he not only appeals to the masses, but also delivers intriguing performances. The special effects weren't anything special, but they came across as realistic enough to work when needed. The three leads - Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman - represent the core of this film's strength, and I must say, you don't find that in many superhero movies, because usually the action or charicature villains are what make them appealing. The only exceptions to this that I have seen are Batman Begins, Unbreakable, and to an extent, Iron Man. While I wouldn't rank this movie with the best of the best superhero flicks, it's certainly an unusual one, and I think that when I see the unrated DVD version of the movie, I'll really love it. For now, it's just a strong superhero flick.

B+

Question, any news on a sequel or is future one possible. Because now that everything is set up for a villain to enter in # 2.

So it's kind of like,

"Actually there were lots of problem but I'll give it a good grade because it will be good on DVD where the cut stuff will be seen?"

I'd really like to see a sequel. There's a lot of potential yet to be tapped in the material (a chunk of which could have been dealt with this time around).

Personally I am glad they didn't clutter it up in this one, I didn't need a 2.5 hour movie - and also have a wasted villain like Iron Man.

Frankly, it would be nice of people not to ask that anymore. There are other threads which are spoiler free that can give you impression of how people liked movies. Crowd reports one for instance.

I really liked it, and think that what things didn't work (which weren't many, not "actually there were lots of problems") would be fixed when DVD comes out, in which case I'd increase my grade.

I've had movies spoiled for me in crowd reports before, too. There's no reason why people HAVE to post spoilers in their reviews, and there's definitely no reason why they HAVE to avoid putting spoiler tags, if it takes a whole three seconds to do.

I enjoyed it. I was expected something really awful and cringe-worthy, but Hancock was decent. It needed a bit better action sequences, but a lot of the humor made up for it. Liked the ending scene a LOT.

Grade: B