Hancock
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence and language.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
It's July 4 weekend, so it must be a Will Smith movie. This year's go asks: What if a superhero wasn't so super? What if a guy with all the abilities of Superman was also an angry drunk with a serious attitude problem? What if Will Smith played a real jerk for a change - at least for a while?
The Story
Hancock (Smith) is the angry drunk of a superhero. It's not that he doesn't catch bad guys and rescue people in trouble; it's just that he does it sloppily inebriated. He destroys and damages cars, roadways, buildings, whales, and trains without a second thought and calls the innocent bystanders bad names.
Everybody in L.A. hates him. He's got dozens of outstanding warrants and pending lawsuits for all the damage he's caused, but he's too strong and fast to be arrested or made to pay for anything. What he really needs is an image makeover and a new attitude. So it's lucky he just saved Ray Embry's life.
Ray (Jason Bateman) is a PR expert trying to save to save the world by getting major corporations to donate huge money to worthy causes. He tells Hancock the reason the hero is so grumpy is because nobody appreciates him. Ray's plan involves Hancock turning himself in to authorities and staying in jail until the people realize how much they need him. When the city calls for his help, Ray and Hancock will be ready to give them a better version of the hero.
Ray's son Aaron (Jae Head) likes Hancock, but it quickly becomes clear that his wife Mary (Carlize Theron) doesn't trust the guy, especially now that he's spending so much time with their family. Hancock doesn't like Ray's plan, but he's willing to try it for the chance to turn his life around.
The Verdict
What Works: I've complained lately that every other movie is a retread of another old TV show, comic book, or film. "Hancock" gets major points for originality. I know it's a variation on the superhero theme in a summer full of superheroes, but I honestly had no idea where the story was going for most of the film. That's so much more fun than just waiting around for what you're expecting to happen. And the much talked-about plot twist in the middle of the film took me completely by surprise.
That twist basically divides "Hancock" into two films. I liked the first half better. Smith and director Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights") manage to make us care about Hancock as a person. The action sequences are convincing and surprising, but Smith plays the antihero straight up instead of going for laughs or making him the "jerk with a heart of gold." His meanness seems to come from a sense of loss and deep hurt, but he's also just an uncaring and arrogant jerk.
I like watching Jason Bateman in almost anything, and he's funny here. Charlize Theron is definitely watchable in her role at Ray's wife, but...
What Doesn't Work:...I'm not sure I bought her in the part. Somehow, her personality didn't fit the feel of the second half of the story for me.
The second half is weaker than the first, but it didn't ruin the film for me as it seems to have for so many mainstream movie critics. Still, it becomes a kind of origin story -- and the origins revealed are a little confusing and not quite satisfying. Some viewers won't like the abrupt shift in tone at the halfway point or the more "out there" comic/book fantasy elements that follow. I'm guessing "Hancock" is going to be one of those like-it-or-loathe-it movies.
Content: "Hancock" is much rougher than other superhero movies, and its PG-13 rating rides on a wave of harsh language, including uses of Christ's and God's names for swearing. There's also lots of drinking/drunkeness and plenty of action violence, some of it more realistically bloody.
Worldview
I'll avoid talking about the potential worldview issues in the second half of "Hancock." Partly, I don't want to give away any of the surprises, and it's also because the pseudo-pagan spirituality that comes into play feels even more like nonsense than the usual superhero origin stories.
A bigger worldview issue on display has to do with "calling." In a way, "Hancock" echoes the classic "Spider-Man" message: "With great power comes great responsibility." But it takes it a step further, suggesting that if you don't take that responsibility seriously, you have the potential to cause great harm.
Hancock also discovers that knowing and accepting who you are makes a big difference in choosing to do what your were meant for. Power without identity or purpose is wasted power.
It's a message Christians should hear loudly and clearly from the Bible. As people in Christ and empowered by God's Spirit, we're not weak. Scripture describes the supernatural gifts each of us has been given to serve God and others. But that power is wasted if we cannot fully accept our identity as God's children instead of mere servants of ourselves.
In Romans 12, Paul urged us to offer God our bodies as living sacrifices, to stop conforming to the ways of the world, to fully embrace our place in the universe by allowing God to transform us with His power. In the very next paragraph, he says, "Once you've established your identity as being 'of God,' use your power to fulfill His mission for you:"
"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." (Romans 12:6-8)
These are just a few of the powers installed in Jesus-followers. We need to figure out who we are and access God's power in us to accomplish our purpose. The tight leather suit is completely optional.
Questions
- So did you like it or loathe it? Did you like the first or second half better?
- Did you hear about the big twist before you saw the movie? Do you think knowing/not knowing would have changed how you felt about the film?
- What are a few of your favorite Will Smith films?
- Did the more-than-usual amount of swearing (for a a superhero movie) bug you? Why or why not?
- If you're a Christian, do you know what your spiritual gift or gifts are? Are you using them or letting them go to waste?
- Would you say you have accepted your identity as belonging to God and your purpose of serving him and others with the power He's given to you? Why or why not?