Hancock
Will Smith used to own the summer (Independence Day, Men in Black, and I, Robot) and now he’s back in the summertime blockbuster battle with Hancock, a live-action superhero film that’s something dramatically different than the normal ‘hero out to save the world’ fare. If the trailer is indicative of what we can expect, then Hancock may be the action-comedy to beat this year.Also Known As:
John Hancock
Tonight He Comes
Tonight, He Comes
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama and Romance
Release Date: July 2nd, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence and language.
Distributors:
Sony Pictures Releasing
Production Co.:
Forward Pass, Inc., Weed Road Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Overbrook Entertainment
Studios:
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
Filming Locations:
Los Angeles, CA USA
Produced in: United States
Hancock is a comedy superhero film directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize Theron. The story was originally written by Vincent Ngo in 1996 and had languished in Hollywood for some time. The project has had various directors attached, including Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, and Gabriele Muccino. Hancock was originally intended to be filmed before I Am Legend, also starring Will Smith. Hancock was filmed in Los Angeles. In the United States, the film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America after changes were made at the organization’s request in order to avoid a “restricted” (R) rating, which it had received twice before.
Sypnosis
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.
Movie Review
Peter Berg’s upcoming “Hancock” is the only comic book superhero movie not based on an actual comic book, and from all the advance reviews we’ve read on the movie, the film has an apparently very spectacular blah Third Act, i.e. the final 20-30 minutes of the film goes so far off the track that many reviewers don’t know quite what to make of it.
While not a total failure, what would the result have been had director Peter Berg been able decide what he wanted his movie to be? As it stands, Hancock is a wildly uneven ho-hum affair that really should’ve have been much more.
