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Movies / On DVD / Hancock
Hancock

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Hancock (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 206

Fresh: 81

Rotten:125

Average Rating: 5.4/10

Consensus: Though it begins with promise, Hancock suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution.

Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Violence and coarse language

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jul 3, 2008 Wide

US Box Office: $227,946,274

Synopsis: There are heroes… there are superheroes… and then there’s Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility – everyone knows that – everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted,... There are heroes… there are superheroes… and then there’s Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility – everyone knows that – everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock’s well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough – as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn’t the kind of man who cares what other people think – until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock’s greatest challenge yet – and a task that may prove impossible as Ray’s wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), insists that he’s a lost cause. --© Sony Pictures [More]

Starring: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan

Starring: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan

Director: Peter Berg

Director: Peter Berg
Screenwriter: Vy Vincent Ngo, Vince Gilligan
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, Michael Mann, Will Smith, James Lassiter
Composer: John Powell
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

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Reviews for Hancock

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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Hancock isn't by any means a dead loss, but it could have been a lot better.

Full Review Source: The Australian | comment Comment
07/10/08
David Stratton
The Australian
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I love surprises and would happily be led up the garden path with Will Smith, but there's a fatal flaw to Hancock, with alien-sized plot holes and worse still, characters behaving out of context.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
06/28/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A clumsily executed, forgettable mess that's too dark for kids, too dull for teens and too dumb for adults

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
06/28/08
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A few actors such as Clint Eastwood, marry substance and popularity. But very few. Most actors' egos lead them to slum in the box office. I'm reminded of this often when a major, talented actor opts for popularity instead of substance when the latter beck

Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly | comment Comment
02/01/09
Tony Macklin
Fayetteville Free Weekly

...an engaging and thoroughly innovative spin on the superhero genre...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
11/28/08
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

What an odd movie!

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
11/21/08
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

A fun, fairly crisp opening hour gives way to a muddled, entirely unsatisfying ending.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Brent Simon
Screen International

It becomes an entirely different film, one not really premised on the bad-superhero comedy idea, and the film is then oddly without a sense of humour, and its vague interest in satire vanishes completely.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The strain of messianism in Will Smith movies is becoming ever more pronounced.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
10/18/08
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

This is a different take on the superhero genre with an interesting, offbeat twist.

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
10/18/08
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A relatively satisfying ending that leaves just enough of an opening to warrant a sequel if the box office receipts are right.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
10/18/08
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Train wrecks are intrinsically spectacular, and Will Smith's new movie offers a doozy. Two of them, in fact.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
10/18/08
Tom Charity
CNN.com

Smith and Bateman are great, and the first half of the movie is terrific. The second half...well, you'll either go with it or you won't.

Full Review Source: The Cinema Source | comment Comment
09/05/08
Michael Dance
The Cinema Source

Will Smith, Fourth of July, superhero. It all seems to add up to a great combination. But they only made half a film.

Full Review Source: The Scorecard Review | comment 2 Comments
08/27/08
Jeff Bayer
The Scorecard Review

The fourth of July will not be the only day for fireworks, July 2nd will definitely heat up at your local theatre when Hancock is released. Be sure to check it out.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum | comment Comment
08/13/08
Jolene Mendez
Entertainment Spectrum

While the film never quite reaches an Alan Moore-level deconstruction of the superhero mythos, it has a fun time offering up all the joy of a big-budget action movie without taking things too seriously.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
08/07/08
Sean Gandert
Paste Magazine

The most adult of the new wave of superhero dramas.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/28/08
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Has plenty of funny, even tender moments until it veers in a different, messy direction an hour in.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment 1 Comment
07/19/08
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

It's let down by a disappointingly uneven plot, painfully underwritten characters and dodgy effects.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/18/08
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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Latest News for Hancock

January 16, 2009: UK Critics Consensus: The Wrestler Pile-drives The Critics, But Don’t Waste any £s on Seven Pounds
With critical success for Slumdog Millionaire last week (94%), we have more award-friendly fare in the UK cinemas this Friday in Darren Aronofsky's spandex-tastic The Wrestler.... More...

December 05, 2008: Will Smith Predicts Hancock 2 Opens in new window
So, who's up for a "Hancock" sequel? According to what Will Smith told JoBlo yesterday, a follow-up installment is "definitely" on the way. More...

November 22, 2008: A superhero movie with soul, a magically endowed boozer, and quirky chemistry fueled between those two dramatic heavyweights, Will Smith and Charlize Theron, who go at it like Hillary and Obama duking it out at a presidential primary. Opens in new window
More...

November 22, 2008: A superhero movie with soul, a magically endowed boozer, and quirky chemistry fueled between those two dramatic heavyweights, Will Smith and Charlize Theron, who go at it like Hillary and Obama duking it out at a presidential primary. Opens in new window
More...

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