Hancock, is a new film directed by Peter Berg. It stars Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman. We meet Hancock (Smith), a “superhero” that is scorned by the public for his sloppy drunken “heroism”. After wreaking havoc in one situation after another Hancock crosses the path of Ray (Bateman); a people oriented Pubic Relations guy who decides he wants to help the super-slob to clean up his image. Ray’s wife Mary (Theron), much like the news media and the public, would much rather see Hancock behind bars. This sparks the reformation of Hancock as Ray suggests he go to prison to show that he’s turning over a new leaf. This is where the story really gets crazy.

Let me start off with the good things about things about this movie. It’s much funnier than I had expected. Smith and Bateman play off each other well, and the delivery of many of the films funny moments come from that dynamic. The whole concept of the sloppy superhero is one that gives rise to a lot of opportunity for laughs. Such as Hancock throwing a beached whale back into the ocean and hitting a sailboat. The storyline is definitely not your average superhero fare; it’s actually pretty original. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say there are some twists in this film that really do surprise and grab your interest. That being said some people may find these twists to be a little too outlandish. But hey, this is a superhero movie right? Anything could happen in this type of fantasy world. The special effects are nice and the action is colorful (although never suspenseful). Visually it’s a very appealing film, although Peter Burg is a little trigger happy with that shaky camera technique.

Ok, so how about the bad? Well, sometimes when I was watching the movie I felt like some of the scenes were missing a few beats. We’re cruising along, funny scene, another funny scene, then suddenly, drama. This film suffers from some serious flip-flopping. The tone of the film seems to be going out one way, then suddenly it shifts gears and it feels a little uncomfortable, then we start to adjust to that and boom, back to the old tone. I felt like some scenes were so intentionally meant to make me feel a certain way that it took me out of the story. It takes itself a little too seriously here and there for the type of story that it is. And a few moments in the film were a little on the cheesy side (I never want to see a slow clap in a movie ever again).

The performances from the three lead roles were good, but there are definitely no breakthroughs here. Charlize Theron always manages to impress me in some way or another, she always makes me believe her. Smith is good, although it didn’t feel like anything new for him. He manages to get the laughs even though he starts as a pretty unlikable guy. Bateman is very entertaining, even if he doesn’t ever seem to break away from that “Arrested Development” character that he does so well. A surprisingly solid performance that I’ll mention is that of the young Jae Head who plays Aaron the son of Ray and Mary who idolizes Hancock. Good child actors are few and far between, I hope to see more of him.

Overall this film manages to entertain from beginning to end. I think the script is probably stronger than the finished product, but it still managed to keep me interested and laughing throughout. If you are one of those people who need constant re-assurance that that the events in a film could actually be feasible, this movie may not be for you. But if you want to just let go and watch the craziness unfold Hancock will probably entertain you. Would I recommend seeing it? Yes. Is it the best movie I’ve seen this year? No. Is it a fun fantasy world? Yes. Would it be a mistake to wait to see it on DVD? No.

- Nick Wolfwood