Hancock: not your usual Will Smith feature
DVD GUIDE: One for home
Hancock: Starring: Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron, Jae Head.
As the one and only saviour of Los Angeles, bona fide superhero Hancock (Smith) helps to maintain peace on the streets of the City of Angels… except his headline-grabbing exploits always seem to result in millions of dollars of damage.
Drunk, foul-mouthed and deaf to an ever-growing chorus of public dissatisfaction, Hancock goes about his daily business, rescuing publicist Ray Embrey (Bateman) from a collision on a level crossing.
As a thank you for saving his life, Ray vows to restore faith in this misunderstood superhero. However, the so-called 'Bono of PR' faces an uphill battle to curb his client"s excesses, ignoring his dutiful wife Mary (Theron) who is fiercely resistant to Hancock"s heartfelt efforts to befriend their impressionable son, Aaron (Head).
For the opening hour, Hancock delivers everything you expect from a Will Smith blockbuster including spectacular set pieces and a barrage of wisecracks, albeit with an excess of strong language and crude humour. Then without warning, Peter Berg"s film abruptly morphs into a doomed romance as scriptwriters Vy Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan throw us a succession of narrative curveballs. Smith"s natural likeability smoothes some of his character"s rough edges but he delivers his best work when Berg"s film cuts the comical asides and forces the superhero to take a long, hard look at himself in the mirror, attending an alcoholics anonymous meeting behind bars where he eventually mutters, 'I"m Hancock and I drink and stuff.' Bateman and Theron are underused, but make the most of their characters" limited narrative arcs. The two-disc DVD and Blu-ray both include the original theatrical and extended versions of the film.
DVD Extras: "Superhumans: The Making Of Hancock" featurette, "Home Life" featurette, "Seeing The Future" featurette, "Suiting Up" featurette, "Building A Better Hero" featurette, "Bumps And Bruises" featurette, "Mere Mortals: Behind The Scenes With "Dirty Pete"" featurette, bonus digital copy of the film; Blu-ray: "Superhumans: The Making Of Hancock" featurette, "Home Life" featurette, "Seeing The Future" featurette, "Suiting Up" featurette, "Building A Better Hero" featurette, "Bumps And Bruises" featurette, "Mere Mortals: Behind The Scenes With "Dirty Pete"" featurette, bonus digital copy of the film, "On-Set Visual Diary" Picture-in-Picture.
Rating: ***
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