Hancock

Hanckock is a superhero movie for folks who don’t like superhero movies. Here we have Will Smith as the eponymous superhero. He’s got the superpowers in the bag (along with a bottle of cheap whiskey), but he’s not really down with the hero part. Generally, he’s more interested in drinking himself into oblivion than helping out the citizens of Los Angeles. So, he’s pretty much the superhero that the City of Super Ego deserves. Through Act One, an idealistic PR chump (Jason Bateman) takes Hancock under his wing to turn the public’s loathin’ for their resident cock-up into lovin’. Mission accomplished for about the first 45 minutes, when the flick abruptly shifts gears and becomes another movie. And before long, Hancock shifts gears again (with a little grinding) to become yet another movie. Somewhere along the line, the superhero send-up promised by the trailers falls along the wayside. Obviously, expecting three halves to coalesce into a satisfying whole is expecting a little much, but credit is due for director Peter Berg and company for not painting by the spandex numbers.