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List Price: $19.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 5689
Released: November 25, 2008 |
| Our Price: $4.23 |
| Used Price: $1.68 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
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 Unrated 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 Unrated Edition) Reviews:
Pleasing Gimmicks for the Subserviant and the Weak of Mind 
2009-12-16 - Let me get this straight. The basic premise of this movie is that what people think of you is the most important thing? Is that over-simplfying the matter?
The bitter, troubled-yet-supremely-gifted outsider can be redeemed if he will only stoop to wear the mantle of socially acceptable behavoir, complete with all the fawning niceties ahssholes lube each other up with, and the worn uniform of conformity that comforts the tiny, fearful beast that resides within the cold, timid, frail, little confines of self-centered, placated hearts when forced by extreme circumstance to confront the realities of life and death. "Johnny-Hero here to save your life folks, and look!, he does it all with a firm handshake and a winning smile, isn't that nice? What a fine, decent human being. Doesn't he make us feel good about ourselves, like we are worth saving, or whatever? Our weak, triflin', common-place, conform-at-all-cost selves."
Then you got Johnny-Lifesaver with his little cheerio's heart trying to "save the world" with pills. I mean, gimme a feckin' break already. Wake the F up. Pills is what's doin' it, people! Get off the f-n pills if you wanna do something about "saving the world". You think your population is sickly obese and diseased because it doesn't have enough pills? Maybe Johnny-Lifesaver should've been trying to save the world with corn syrup instead. Yeah, corn syrup and pills to save the world. And just remember that people who smoke pot are losers who don't take life seriously enough and don't knuckle down to get ahead. Yeah, and faahk you too. Don't let the door smash your head up the next guy's ahss on the way out, herc, herc! I mean, that Hancock was great wasn't it? Hoy, hoy, all them digital effects and dog and pony tricks that the masses have always, and always will fall for. I especially enjoyed the one where they made the Fresh Prince all badahss and street. Made him drink liquor wid his meatballs and top dog of cellblock C, an' all dat. What will that guy be told when he stands in judgement before the Almighty? "Swell work my boy, you molded many a poor heart and even were a bit humorous along the way. Well done, good and faithful servant, you may have your reward."?
I gotta admit though, Happyness disturbed me more than Hancock in the end. They should title his next big screen appearance, Hurumph. Or maybe Hurumph, Hurumph, like it was so nice they named it twice, or some shet. Not bad, not bad, but I doubt if Mr. Smith goes out clubbin' without a full entourage, know what I'm sayin'? Or maybe the club comes to him. And then again, maybe he don't do no feckin' clubbin' at all and that's all a big act too, who's to say? Who cares? I wish him nothing but success and happyness the rest of his days, but if his brain does evolve, or is allowed to evolve in old age, as has been known to happen with his kind, the "not-as-dumb-as-he-looks" crowd, or even just someday when he gets enough money, he may always feel a little pang in the far corner of his heart when looking back over his lengthy and successful repertoire; when he looks back over the roles society and, especially, the masters of society chose for him and allowed him to play.
Not I to judge, just trying to describe to myself how I see it. A lotta fun, lotta fun.
One last, little thing I couldn't help but mention; Why is it that in all these masturbatory super-heor fantasy flicks, fighting crime always means the big, surly, tatted guy with the uzi, and never pimple-faced geeks and "Johnny Three-pieces" at corporate headquarters? (Robocop, specifically the original, was the one brilliant exception that comes to mind.) I mean, who are we trying to kid here? To clean out the squids and clams at the bottom you gotta first get rid of all the big, blood-thirsty sharks at the top, am I right? Let's not kid ourselves about that at least.
Do you realize how much enjoyment and happyness the "average" viewer would derive from such scenes? Perhaps you've never had the pleasure of scanning the crowd at a professional wrestling extravaganza. It's not hard to thrill these beasts-- give 'em the thing with big, hairy, rubber tihts on. Grind their faces right into the heart of the filth, if that's what they want. Let 'em have it in spades. Give 'em a few scenes where Bubba has himself a bit of cake and sodomy at the expense of a banker or politician, or better yet, a banker-politician. I mean, would it kill you to humor us with a little self-debasement from time to time? The wretches on the bottom have been having to indulge in it for many a year thanks to all the "Cops" shows and "prime time" horror the tube continuously spews on them. A little change of pace, carnage against corrupt politicians, corporate executives, lawyers, judges, priests, preachers, doctors, professors, police officers, federal agents, armed forces and the like, for example, would be almost cleansing and therepuetic to the "everyman" citizen on the bottom rung whose everyday life is a shet existance under their iron heels and fat, grindy thumbs. Even I would cheer Will Smith in a film of such character and magnitude. Doubt if it would get financed however, just a sneaking suspicion. Maybe Uwe Boll will take the subject on someday. But then you killjoys would suppress distribution on it like you did with Postal, which is certainly the funniest if not the most truthful social commentary/comedy made in the past thirty years. It even surpasses Idiocracy, or at least ties it, if such a thing is possible.
Love,
Sal
Can't make up its mind 
2009-12-03 - Is is a crass movie aimed at the mindless action flick crowd? A romantic movie? Serious and depressing commentary on the human condition?
Hancock tries to be all three, and pretty much fails at all of them. The trailer makes it look like an action comedy, but that's only the first part of the movie. The rest of the movie feels tacked on, and just doesn't work.
If you are in the mood for the movie the trailer leads you to expect, you'll be severely disappointed. If you've never seen the trailer, you might like it better, but probably not much.
Binary Gods 
2009-11-30 - Hancock is a binary god. When he gets near his compliment, she causes him to become mortal. The mortality was designed for them grow old and die. They are naturally attracted to each other and have been alive for thousands of years. Hancock has lost his memory and does not know about his complimentary Goddess. The villain is a evil group that kill the Gods once they become mortal. The evil group seems to cross paths with the Gods and kill the Goddess. However, there seems to be a regenerative capability, if both are not killed. Hancock, escapes and distances himself from his compliment and she regenerates. Hancocks mission is to save humanity.
Horrible.
2009-11-01 - This movie was horrible. I'm usually a Will Smith fan but after this movie I wanted to hate him, but I couldn't. I just couldn't get into this movie as much as I tried. I even slept good the night before, hoping to stay awake to watch this movie but I couldn't stay awake. Whatever, I tried. It's just a really boring movie.
Zero-to-Hero 
2009-10-30 - Will Smith does a great job in this film, which deals with a man with super powers but no social skills. A chance meeting with a PR guy begins to change things around for him, face his flaws and eventually take his place as a true hero. There are some other great twists to this story but overall it's enough to know that it's a good film and certainly one worth giving a try.
