With all the superhero films based on comic book characters that were released this year, HANCOCK is the only superhero (Or should I say anti-hero) movie released that was not based on a comic book. In fact HANCOCK was a script that was written back in 1996 and was in limbo for all these years, until it was put on the table with Will Smith attached and went into production in 2007 with a budget of one-hundred and fifty million dollars.
HANCOCK is about drunk superhero named John Hancock (Will Smith). Hancock is not a very well received superhero as he is always drunk and when it comes to catching the bad guys he can’t seem to avoid doing millions of dollars in damage to Los Angeles and making a complete ass of himself. One day he just happens to rescue Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) a struggling corporate public relations consultant from almost getting hit by a train but Hancock saves him. Rather than praising him the people yell and scream at him for all the damage he caused while rescuing Ray. In Hancock’s defense Ray praises him and tells everyone else to leave him alone. Feeling he owes Hancock for saving his life, Ray helps Hancock rebuild his image so that the people of Los Angeles will grow to love Hancock instead of hate him. Revived and no longer drinking Hancock once again builds the trust of the people and saves a group of people during a hostage situation during a bank robbery. But as time moves the guys from the bank that he put in jail will come back after Hancock, and a mysterious twist in the plot will cost Hancock his powers, unless he does something about it.
The script is pretty decent, but the story does get a little crazy towards it conclusion with it’s twisty plot. The movie has some great production value however and the visual effects drive the movie’s most memorable scenes. The acting in the movie is it’s strong point. The movie has an all star cast including Will Smith as Hancock, Jason Bateman as his publicist Ray, and Charlize Theron as Ray’s wife Mary and Eddie Marsen as the movie’s villain.
The DVD has many special features such as an unrated version of the film that was not released in theaters because of it’s content. Superhumans: the Making of HANCOCK which is obviously a featurette about the making of the film. There is another featurette about the pre-production of the film where they used pre-visualization technology and story boards to layout the film. It also shows some behind the scenes footage. Building a Better Hero, a special effects featurette, and another featurette called Bumps and Bruises about the stunts of HANCOCK. And then there is “Mere Morals: a behind the scenes feature with HANCOCK director Peter Berg.
Overall, While I though HANCOCK was a fun movie, I really didn’t care much for the twisty story. I found the last act of the film to be too much, yet I did like what it was trying to do, but not the way in which it was presented on screen. The DVD is pretty good and has a lot of neat features, but as for the movie I though the effects were great, but the story didn’t capture me like other superhero films like IRON MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK and HELLBOY 2 did this year. I know not everyone is going to agree with me and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who will like this one. It’s not a bad movie, but to me it has a lot of odd points in the story that I just didn’t really care for.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
