"Hancock" is not a bad movie, just an underachieving one. It lacks a "wow" factor. It is bland and routine and flies off in too many directions.
Hancock (2008)
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 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
Reviews for Hancock
Hancock is an irreverent hero for our times--perhaps reflecting our own national zeitgeist, with America's previously untainted superpower image suddenly a matter of debate rather than fact.
... where [director Peter] Berg makes it work is by refusing to sacrifice the integrity of his characters for an easy ending.
Hancock is still a lot of fun. Will Smith remains one of the most likable of movie stars, and he's a virtuoso of underplayed sarcasm.
There's no crime in keeping the audience smiling and laughing guys but it should be a crime in ruining what could have been one of Smith's best projects to date.
Yet because it's Smith, you know that Hancock can't be all bad, and as the film spends the next hour trying to rehabilitate him, proceedings slowly starts to fall apart.
Yet because it's Smith, you know that Hancock can't be all bad, and as the film spends the next hour trying to rehabilitate him, proceedings slowly starts to fall apart.
John Hancock is a black superhero desired and derided by crowds who are informed by spectacles, stereotypes, and fear.
[...]it's always nice to see someone revisit Christopher Reeves' drunken Man of Steel act from Superman III.
If Hancock didn't try so hard to be "edgy" and "different" it could have been a winner. Instead with the only villain in the movie being a Whiskey bottle it barely registers as a blip on the radar.
Hancock is a mess that isn't even fun to enjoy for its little pleasures.
Flashy and funny, but extremely uneven, this superhero action comedy lets its gifted cast stroll through a series of ill-defined characters
as daring and audacious as its eponymous hero, venturing into realms of mythos and sentiment with equal dexterity and erudition
Hancock is either a brilliant disaster or an often uneven masterwork.
Only half a good movie -- the whole of it becomes confusing, disappointing, and non-sensical.
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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