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List Price: $28.96 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 407
Released: November 25, 2008 |
| Our Price: $16.99 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Academy Award® nominee Will Smith (Best Actor, The Pursuit of Happyness, 2006) stars in this action-packed comedy as Hancock, a sarcastic, hard-living and misunderstood superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public. When Hancock grudgingly agrees to an extreme makeover from idealistic publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, Juno), his life and reputation rise from the ashes and all seems right again--until he meets a woman (2003 Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron, Best Actress, Monster) with similar powers to his and the key to his secret past.
Description of Hancock (Single-Disc Rated Edition):
Hancock turns the standard superhero movie inside-out: The title character (Will Smith) can fly, has superstrength, and is invulnerable, but he's also a sloppy, alcoholic jerk who causes millions of dollars in property damage whenever he bothers to fight crime. When he saves the life of a public-relations agent named Ray (Jason Bateman, Arrested Development), Ray decides to improve Hancock's image--starting by having Hancock surrender himself to the authorities and go to prison for his lawless behavior. The idea is that once he's in prison, the crime rate will go up, and people will start to realize Hancock might be of value after all. This is only the first act of Hancock--from there, the movie takes several clever turns that shouldn't be revealed. Hancock isn't a great movie (among other things, director Peter Berg overuses close-ups with a hand-held camera to a degree that may cause motion sickness), but it is an extremely entertaining one. The script, which holds together far better than most superhero movies, has a propulsive plot, good dialogue, some compassion for its characters, and even an actual idea or two. The spectacular action at least gestures towards obeying the laws of physics, which actually makes the special effects more vivid. The three leads (Smith, Bateman, and Charlize Theron as Ray's wife, Mary) deftly balance the movie's mixture of comedy, action, and drama. All in all, a smart subversive twist on a genre that all too often takes itself all too seriously. --Bret Fetzer
Stills from Hancock (click for larger image)
Hancock (Single-Disc Rated Edition) Reviews:
Still good value 
2008-11-23 - As far as the genre of traditional superhero stereotypes goes, HANCOCK (I would rate 3 & 1/2 stars) is different to most. With plenty of imperfections and an attitude to match, HANCOCK is a character that appears to have lost his way. At times this coincides with the movie plot also losing its way, but that may have more to do with the screenplay being rewritten a couple of times and also being shelved for a while before production finally started. I don't believe Will Smith's acting has anything to do with that shortcoming.
In terms of entertainment value, I enjoyed it, and so did my family - with some qualifiers; it's important to not take the movie too seriously, and I wouldn't recommend it for kids under 11-12yrs. It is meant to be different, and is not easy to classify into comedy, romance, or just plain action! Yes at times HANCOCK over promised and could have been better and explored some of the main character's past a bit more. Maybe an opportunity gone begging - but still plenty of other material that does deliver some unique and unexpected scenarios. HANCOCK reminds me in a way of the original Stargate SG1 movie, which could have been so much better but all was not lost when it was turned into an incredibly successful TV series. HANCOCK is still good value - plenty of laughs.
Parents Beware. 
2008-11-22 - HANCOCK is your typical Summer movie... lots of unrealistic Action, lots of special effects, lots of funny moments, and an A-list cast. To put it as brief as possible, Will Smith plays John Hancock who, at first glance, appears to be your average alcoholic bum who sleeps on bus stop benches. However, unlike most bums (that I know of, anyway) he possesses superhuman strength, the ability to fly, is bulletproof, and is pretty much immortal. His powers combined with his careless attitude (fighting crime under the influence, if you will) has caused the citizens of Los Angeles to lash out against him due to his millions of dollars in damages to the city and putting people's lives in danger. In order to better his image, a publicist (Justin Bateman) convinces Hancock to turn himself into authorities and play along with the system in order to create a demand for his presence and redeem himself with the common folk. Part of Hancock's problem is that his earliest memory is waking up in a Miami hospital after suffering massive head trauma... 80 years ago! Little does he know that his publicist's wife (the goddess Charlize Theron) may have an answer to his secret past and in an unusual twist, the answer could cost him his life.
I actually enjoyed HANCOCK a lot. I can see where a lot of the bad reviews came from, but for the most part I thought it was an average Summer Blockbuster type of film that had a boost from the great performances by Will Smith and Charlize Theron. Sure, the script was unbelievably over the top but this is a superhero movie we're talking about here. The visuals in the movie are outstanding. Beautifully shot and photographed and fantastic special effects. The film has a lot of great music from mainstream artists that make the movie a little more fun than the average film. The Action scenes are great and a lot of it is total eye candy (a Big Rig truck being used as a projectile, for example). However, the movie had a few things I disliked... for one, the amount of adult language was unreal. Personally I could care less about adult language in movies, however I think in this case it really hurt the film seeing as it has the potential to be a movie that both kids and adults can enjoy. But with HANCOCK, I don't have any kids but if I did I definitely would not let them watch this. And if I were to watch this movie around people with kids of their own, I would be pretty embarrased. Seeing as the DVD release is Unrated, it means that there is no restriction on who can watch this movie so basically any kid old enough to rent a movie could get this and watch it without their parents even knowing. So to all you parents out there... be warned. Another thing that was a huge disappointment was the lack of a villain. Technically there was a villain, but he was not even a major factor in the film and was just kind of there to set up something else. And another 'DOH!' moment is the fact that the film has a plot twist, but it's revealed on the back of the DVD cover! Don't you hate it when movies do that?
Overall, I think HANCOCK is a pretty enjoyable movie. Recommending it to anyone... well that's another story. If you have kids stay far away from this one, unless you don't mind them watching movies with a lot of foul language. Other than that I would definitely recommend HANCOCK to anyone wanting to see a good Action/Comedy that's heavy on the Action and laughs and light on having any logic whatsoever.
3.5 stars
Good Plot but WAYYYYYY Too Much Language 
2008-11-21 - "Hancock" is a otherwise decent movie with a very good plot except that there is WAYYYY too much language in it! They say a particular curse word (that Hancock hates to be called) about twenty times in the movie! And there's lots of other words too! I'd watch this movie except for the language! So, maybe they should start releasing more movies with less language and then I'd go see them!
The Only One of its Kind
2008-11-18 - Hancock (Will Smith) is not your garden variety superhero. He's more like your garden variety bum. He spends most of his day sleeping on benches and drinking booze. When duty calls, he awakens from his drunken coma, bottle in hand to stop the wrong-doers. If there's a lesson to be learned here, it's not to fight crime drunk because it costs millions in property damage and public outrage. Luckily for Hancock, somebody wants to help the poor guy. Cue Ray (Jason Batemen) a publicist who vows to change the superhero's image in exchange for Hancock's saving his life.
The first half of "Hancock" is chock full of crude humor and the superhero doing his worst at being the best. It's thoroughly entertaining and will provide plenty of laughs. The second half of "Hancock" is about the superhero in the spotlight, but this time he is depicted as a "true" superhero and the public begins to recognize him as a positive figure. The second half is what makes or breaks the movie for viewers. Why? Because of the unexpected twist in the plot.
While I won't reveal the plot twist, I will say that it will leave people feeling divided. Some will probably think it is incredibly clever and others will believe it's sheer silliness. In my opinion, it's both clever and silly at the same time. Either way you look at it, "Hancock" is an original movie...the only one of its kind. The only superhero movie that does not have to be strict to a source, i.e. a comic book, to appease fans. It is also extremely entertaining. Everything from the CGI to the performances make this movie interesting and above all, unique. "Hancock" is definitely a movie worth watching.
Another great movie Will Smith! 
2008-11-17 - I saw this in theaters and I have to say it might be one of Will Smith's best movies yet. I loved the action. Hancock is a great entertainment for families of all ages, but I wouldn't recommend for young children since there is bad language. I found this movie fun, exciting, entertaining, HILARIOUS, and so much more. Hancock is action-packed, sad in some parts, and humorous. I love the character's personalities, and how everything ends up being what you wouldn't expect. I adore this movie. I was surprised about the many negitive comments though. Some critical reviews are needed, yes, but some are just, well, down right mean. Please don't comment like that if you dislike the movie that much. Theres many other ways to say what maybe something you liked and other things that could be improved. Get some manners people. tsk tsk. I can't wait until it comes out in DVD. I would recommend to everyone. Another job well done Will Smith!
