You may or may not have noticed that we’ve posted pretty much nothing about Hancock, the superhero fantasy dramedy starring Will Smith, which opened this past Tuesday, July 2, 2008.

Now, just looking at that release date and who the star of the film is, you know automatically that it will be a summer blockbuster. And hell, I won’t begrudge Will Smith another moneymaker, cuz I dig Will Smith.

So why haven’t I provided any coverage for Hancock thus far?

Because from all the trailers I saw for this film, I assumed it was a comedy the likes of Blankman that was looking to use the money-making power of Will Smith to spoof superhero movies. And I had no interest in that.

Just watch the trailer yourself (see below); it shows Smith as the drunken superhero Hancock attempting to save a beached whale by flinging it by its tail back into the ocean, crashing it right into the only boat in sight. I’m sorry, but that’s not only incredibly offensive to me, but horribly stupid in general. To top it off, the scenes where Hancock is flying looks like really lazy wirework.

So why am I talking about Hancock now? Because, get this, I go see the film on Monday night and guess what? I LIKED IT. I know, I know, it’s insane. Who would have thought? But it turns out that marketing really fucked this one up, because all the promos for this movie are nothing like what you’re going to see. I can’t really blame the marketing people too much, because while yes, I did enjoy the movie, I can see how marketing wouldn’t know what to do with it. Is it a comedy or a drama? (Truthfully, at times, it was very My Super Ex-Girlfriend). Is it a fantasy? Is it a superhero movie like Spider-Man? What the hell is it?

Turns out, it’s all of the above.

But that’s not the true problem with Hancock. The filmmakers have said that it was their intention to make an unconventional mixed-bag film, something that wasn’t a typical Hollywood cookie-cutter offering. So, switching up the film’s genre every so often, wasn’t so terrible (although, understandably confusing to some movie-goers). Where Hancock went wrong was with the gapping plot holes and the many questions left unanswered. Or perhaps there was a lot left on the cutting room floor (the film is short by today’s standards, clocking in at 92 minutes).

Apparently, this script went through several rewrites and the studios did everything they could to get a PG-13 rating for it after early scripts returned an R rating from the MPAA. I think with all that hacking and rearranging, some important elements might have been dropped. Hollywood Elsewhere has posted what is supposedly screenwriter Vy Vincent Ngo‘s original screenplay, initially called Tonight He Comes, before Vince Gilligan’s rewrite, so there were obvious changes. There were also reports that producer Akiva Goldsman did rewrites as well, as he did for another Will Smith box office smash, I Am Legend (which many fans of the book felt was totally mangled in the end). It’s possible there were just too many hands involved in crafting this story, that no one was keeping track of continuity.

The Comedy
The first third of the movie starts out as a comedy. We meet Hancock, a seemingly homeless drunk with the strength and power of a superhero. Unfortunately, when he arrives to save the day, he might save a life or two, but in the process do millions of dollars in needless damage to the city of Los Angeles. It’s funny, but only if you imagine these scenarios as harmless cartoons where no one really gets hurt. Unfortunately, the filmmakers did nothing to set up a fantasy world where a Hancock figure exists, so you’d have to assume that all of this destruction is going to actually hurt some people. At this point, understandably, the public hates Hancock.

Here’s the part I don’t understand: Hancock is a drunk; he’s insensitive, sarcastic, and abrasive; he definitely doesn’t care what anyone thinks or says about him. He does more harm than good and doesn’t care enough to actually get the job done well. He’s broke and sleeps on bus stop benches, but he’s not getting paid for his heroic efforts. Plus, the public actually just wants him to go away. So, why would Hancock even bother trying to save people?

The Drama
Then Hancock saves public relations expert Ray (Jason Bateman), who convinces Hancock to change his ways. This is where the movie changes from the straight comedy to the dramatic. Hancock begins to spend time with the good-natured Ray and his family — his beautiful wife Mary (Charlize Theron) and their son Aaron (Jae Head). Here we learn that Hancock is actually 80-years-old and can’t remember his life before then. He doesn’t know why he has these powers. All he knows is that he’s totally alone in the world. We also see that Mary is uncomfortable around Hancock and that it’s more than just simple dislike.

Because Hancock trusts Ray, he reluctantly agrees to turn himself in and serve some jail time, which would include alcohol rehabilitation and anger management. In the trailer, we see what seems like Hancock holding a press conference where he sincerely tells the people that they deserve better from him and that he will be better. This gave the illusion that Hancock is doing this all on his own. In the film, it’s obvious that these words were written by Ray and that Hancock doesn’t mean it at the time. So, why is Hancock going through with the plan to revamp his image?

In prison, there is an over-the-top humorous confrontation between Hancock and two tough guys, and while it is ridiculous, it does put an image to the common threat of putting someone’s head of someone else’s ass. But mainly, the prison time is full of serious self-reflection time.

The Superhero
Cue the superhero film just begging to get out. As Ray predicted, the city NEEDS Hancock and miss him in his absence. Hancock is released from prison to work with the LAPD to stop a bank robbery. The head bank robber Red (Eddie Marsan), is a maniacal Lex Luthor-type, though not as intelligent because Hancock — in a major kickass moment — manages to disable Red and save all the hostages.

Hancock finally feels comfortable in his superhero role, with costume and all.

The Fantasy
Ok, so Hancock is now redeemed. Where does he go from here? It would seem like this is where the movie would naturally end.

Enter … The Twist. And a new movie begins.

I knew something was up with Mary from the beginning, but I didn’t see this coming: Turns out, Mary has the same powers as Hancock and that they were a couple for thousands of years! She last saw him 80 years prior when he was hospitalize with head injuries and amnesia after saving her life. The story is that their people were created in pairs (by who, we don’t know) and that they had been a set. The problem is that as long as they are together, they are always in danger. Mary retells several scenarios where they were attacked, saying “They came after us again.” WHO’S this THEY that keeps attacking them? We never find out.

And why is Mary so angry at Hancock? Especially since Mary was the one who abandoned Hancock, who was her love through thousands of years. As far as we can tell, he did absolutely nothing wrong to her and they had been in love. His last act with her was to save her life. Yet, when she first reveals herself, she threatens to kill him if he tells Ray the truth. She also proceeds to have an all-out physical battle with him, destroying buildings and streets in the process, and tells him that his reentry into her life is ruining the happy life she’s made for herself. Why all the hostility from Mary? We never find out the reasoning.

Aside from being in danger, they also lose their superpowers when they’re together. But their natural instinct is to be together and they are always drawn to one another. This explains how of all the people to get close to, Hancock finds himself with this family.

But this revelation isn’t enough. We have to see them in danger. Here comes Red, fresh from his orchestrated prison break along with the two convicts that Hancock ‘assheaded’ previously. I guess it’s simple enough to break out of prison (sure), but why would Red think that he could come after Hancock and win? There’s no indication that he knows of Hancock’s weaknesses. And the other two guys experienced Hancock’s power the hard way, so there’d be no way they’d think they could overpower him. What would have made more sense is if Red had been an aforementioned “They” that Mary talked about, but he wasn’t. Just some idiot begging to get his ass kicked. He does do some damage (let’s not forget about the whole losing of the powers thing), but again, there’s no way he would have known about this potential advantage to his plan.

Of course, in the end, Hancock triumphs and he, Mary, Ray, and Aaron all survive. Because Hancock is apparently really a good person, he leaves so that Mary is no longer in danger. Makes sense.

Here’s what doesn’t make sense: The last scene is of Mary, Ray, and Aaron living happily ever after, while Hancock — now a ready, willing, and able superhero — keeps in touch with them via cell phone. After all that was revealed, it’s hard to believe that 1) Hancock and Mary would be fine never being together again; 2) Mary would truly be happy living her normal life, continuing never to use her powers; and 3) Ray would be able to overlook all that had happened.

Also, how selfish is Mary? Not only does she cold-diss Hancock (as explained before), but she has all of these powers and she’s doing NOTHING to save anyone! Mary had even told Hancock that she was the stronger, more powerful one of the two of them, yet she’s not willing to use her powers for good. As a matter of fact, the one time she displayed her powers, she wrecked half the city. Way to go, Mary!

So you see, there was obviously a lot left out of Hancock, material that could have made it a top-notch Spider-Man-like superhero movie.

What did you think of Hancock? Was it a big misfire? Did Will Smith make a mistake signing on for this one? Does Hancock deserve the big box office bucks it will get from having Will Smith headlining it?

Trailer