Hancock is a rarity. It's an action yarn that feels like a drama and, alternately, a drama that takes our breath away with bursts of eye-popping action.
Comment
07/02/08
Hancock (2008)
40
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:210
Fresh:84
Rotten:126
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Though it begins with promise, Hancock suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution.
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,... [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan
Director: Peter Berg
Reviews for Hancock
81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
I'm willing to give a superhero film some leeway in terms of realism but a film has to remain true to its own inner logic and this one keeps changing the ground rules.
07/02/08
The problem is that director Peter Berg, aided and abetted by Smith and Theron and third banana Jason Bateman, seem to have made it literally, not realizing its out-of-whack tonalities and grotesque plot twists were meant to be played for laughs.
07/02/08
Top CriticThe good cast does what it can with the weak material, but the waste of talent only makes the film's total failure that much more regrettable.
07/02/08
Can someone explain how this high-concept dud nabbed a coveted Fourth of July opening?
07/02/08
Hancock leaps fluidly from comedy to action to romance. And it has bigger surprises in store.
07/02/08
As soon as the hero becomes another wounded demigod brooding on rooftops, the movie loses its sting.
07/02/08
Ill-conceived and oddly executed, this Will Smith vehicle perplexes more often than it entertains.
07/02/08
Hancock makes for one unexpectedly satisfying and kinky addition to Hollywood’s superhero chronicles.
07/02/08
Top CriticThere's a great idea here, but it's buried within a muddled story that lurches between dark comedy and maudlin drama.
07/02/08
Drunk superhero comedy turns into ... something else, not all that successfully.
07/02/08
Hancock can fly; Hancock can punch; Hancock is bulletproof. Regrettably these things don't hold true for Hancock as a film, which starts promisingly enough, but ultimately gets knocked off course by a reveal of dubious dramatic value.
07/02/08
Since The Pursuit of Happyness, actor-producer Smith has made no secret of his desire to make movies that entertain in that big-studio way but also dig deeper. Hancock is a rousing measure of that intent.
07/02/08
The first half is diverting and inventive. But the filmmakers use the second half as a box-office insurance policy. They fill it with the conventional super-heroics and heartbreak that they spend the first 45 minutes gleefully deconstructing.
07/02/08
... in spite of its flaws, I very much enjoyed Hancock, for both its interesting and creative storytelling and Smith's great lead performance.
07/02/08
A floundering action comedy with an interesting premise that self-destructs in its second half.
07/02/08
As delivered by director Peter Berg, Hancock is never as serious or funny or poignant as it could be. And despite clocking in at a reasonable running time, it has a big sag in the middle that nothing could have fixed.
07/02/08
Audience members willing to hop aboard this emotional roller coaster ride will respond to the resultant pathos far better than viewers wondering why the laughs suddenly went MIA.
07/02/08
Will Smith and a great cast are not enough to keep this from becoming a soaring disappointment in this summer's superhero movie sweepstakes.
07/02/08
A few more films like these, and this will be remembered as the beginning of the end of his blockbuster career.
07/02/08
Latest News for Hancock
September 11, 2009:
Will Smith and Charlize Theron on Board for Hancock Sequel 
We've already heard that a "Hancock" sequel is in development; now Peter Berg tells MTV that "everybody's going to come back." More...
August 28, 2009:
Weekly Ketchup: Hancock Sequel Script Started, Bioshock Scaled Back
We are firmly in the dog days of Summer, as Hollywood sneaks a couple of end of the menu horror movies into theaters, and movie news this week came to a near standstill. There... More...
August 25, 2009:
Columbia Hires Hancock Sequel Scribes
Looks like Peter Berg's recent comments about a "Hancock" sequel weren't just idle speculation: Columbia has hired scribes Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara to write the script for a... More...
August 19, 2009:
Peter Berg Talks Hancock Sequel
There aren't any definite plans yet, but if a "Hancock" sequel ever comes to pass, Peter Berg has a few ideas about where the story might lead. More...
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