Post by Uber on Jun 29, 2008 11:42:52 GMT -5
I feel dirty just typing that title. Anyway, on Friday night I was one of the few lucky souls selected to attend a screening of Hancock at the Alamo Drafthouse S. Lamar. Here's my take on it:
Superhero movies are sometimes hard to pin down. Most samples have established canon which they are fighting against, as well as an army of loyal rabid fanboys to please. Those that are 'fresh' usually fall flat on their faces. Fortunately, there is that rare superhero movie which manages to capture the imagination as well as develop it's own environment. I'm pleased to say that Hancock falls within that category, and is well worth a viewing.
The plotline is such that I don't want to give too much away, so let's focus on the characters, shall we? First up is Hancock, the anti-hero who, though he attempts to do good, will do it on his own terms. It's as if Superman sat down one day, said "screw these jackholes, I need a drink", and chugged a truckload of Jameson's. Well, that's Hancock. He's a soused-up son of a gun who the public wants to like, but just can't. Will Smith plays him very well, with a mix of badassedness, sadness and cockiness that brings the character to life.
Jason Bateman plays Michael Bluth^H^H^H Ray, a public relations expert who attempts to clear up Hancock's image. I am starting to think that Jason Bateman will continue playing this same somewhat sappy optimistic sadsack character for the rest of his life. Fortunately he's a good comedic foil for Hancock to play off of, with them feeding setups to each other for the comedic gold that this movie brings to the table.
Charlize Theron....wait, she's in this movie? You wouldn't know it, based on the trailers for this film. Hardly a frame of celluloid includes her, which is a shame, because she turns out to be a good 'glue' character. She holds this picture together and progresses the plotline. She plays Ray's wife, Mary, and has a severe dislike of Hancock.
*edit* (a lot of this somehow got lost...so recreating what I can)
The effects in this movie are classic July 4th material, but nothing all that new. Same with the music, including the 'rising' score in the few challenging scenes. Listen for the Sanford and Son theme, and tell me if you think it makes sense where it is placed. Honestly, that just confused the crap out of me.
They replay a few old gags in this film, you'll surely recognize them. Shades of "Cast Away" and "Monty Python" can be found here, with an odd mix of isolationism and raunchy humor appearing in adjacent scenes.
One thing which really hurts this movie is it's runtime. At 90 minutes, it just seems like we hurried along to the finale a little too quickly. Some major plot twists occur, then we're rushing towards the end. I wanted to see a little more interaction between Mary, Hancock and Ray, but alas we were over before that even got a chance to start.
So most of the time in films like this, I'm able to pick out the plot twists in the first 10 minutes. For Hancock, it wasn't quite so obvious, which was very enjoyable. An enjoyable July 4th movie, I would go see it again. Just don't call him an asshole, because you might wind up in some severe pain.
Superhero movies are sometimes hard to pin down. Most samples have established canon which they are fighting against, as well as an army of loyal rabid fanboys to please. Those that are 'fresh' usually fall flat on their faces. Fortunately, there is that rare superhero movie which manages to capture the imagination as well as develop it's own environment. I'm pleased to say that Hancock falls within that category, and is well worth a viewing.
The plotline is such that I don't want to give too much away, so let's focus on the characters, shall we? First up is Hancock, the anti-hero who, though he attempts to do good, will do it on his own terms. It's as if Superman sat down one day, said "screw these jackholes, I need a drink", and chugged a truckload of Jameson's. Well, that's Hancock. He's a soused-up son of a gun who the public wants to like, but just can't. Will Smith plays him very well, with a mix of badassedness, sadness and cockiness that brings the character to life.
Jason Bateman plays Michael Bluth^H^H^H Ray, a public relations expert who attempts to clear up Hancock's image. I am starting to think that Jason Bateman will continue playing this same somewhat sappy optimistic sadsack character for the rest of his life. Fortunately he's a good comedic foil for Hancock to play off of, with them feeding setups to each other for the comedic gold that this movie brings to the table.
Charlize Theron....wait, she's in this movie? You wouldn't know it, based on the trailers for this film. Hardly a frame of celluloid includes her, which is a shame, because she turns out to be a good 'glue' character. She holds this picture together and progresses the plotline. She plays Ray's wife, Mary, and has a severe dislike of Hancock.
*edit* (a lot of this somehow got lost...so recreating what I can)
The effects in this movie are classic July 4th material, but nothing all that new. Same with the music, including the 'rising' score in the few challenging scenes. Listen for the Sanford and Son theme, and tell me if you think it makes sense where it is placed. Honestly, that just confused the crap out of me.
They replay a few old gags in this film, you'll surely recognize them. Shades of "Cast Away" and "Monty Python" can be found here, with an odd mix of isolationism and raunchy humor appearing in adjacent scenes.
One thing which really hurts this movie is it's runtime. At 90 minutes, it just seems like we hurried along to the finale a little too quickly. Some major plot twists occur, then we're rushing towards the end. I wanted to see a little more interaction between Mary, Hancock and Ray, but alas we were over before that even got a chance to start.
So most of the time in films like this, I'm able to pick out the plot twists in the first 10 minutes. For Hancock, it wasn't quite so obvious, which was very enjoyable. An enjoyable July 4th movie, I would go see it again. Just don't call him an asshole, because you might wind up in some severe pain.