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July 01, 2008
Hancock - Non-Spoiler Review
Hancock is very much in the spirit of Iron Man, from earlier this summer. Our hero is an anti-hero… drunk, smug, angry, selfish, and powerful. But unlike Tony Stark, his story starts to turn not when he is beaten into a change of perspective but because there is something going on inside of him that is clearly aware of an ambivalence about his behavior. Even as he “saves the day” and screws up massively in the process, causing tens of millions in damage as he “helps,” one gets the feeling in the audience that he is a bit of a fuck-up, but also a bit willful about being lazy and missing the mark, like a teenager who has grown into the body of an adult but who hasn’t gotten over the itchy need to show everyone that now “I am a man!”
Just thinking about one of Hancock's destructive take-offs (destroying a bus bench and leaving a massive hole in the cement it was screwed into) or landings (leaving car-sized holes in streets)… can anyone who has dealt with a brooding teen male be unable to imagine that kid taking off and landing exactly like that. “Stop playing with the X-Box and save that damned busload of children!” “Damn it! Why are you always interrupting me before I get to the next level!” SLAMMM… through the roof… another destroyed TV set…
The spoiler review is due sometime tonight...
Posted by dpoland at July 1, 2008 03:45 PM
Comments
Do they even mention Theron in any of the ads?
It just dawned on me, Bateman and Theron acted together the last season of Arrested Development.
Mr F. and the gold star. Funny stuff.
Posted by: tjfar67 ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 1, 2008 05:38 PM
I don't know about ads, but Theron was on Letterman last week plugging the movie and getting hit on.
Posted by: jeffmcm at July 1, 2008 05:44 PM
i saw that...i got the impression charlize was liquored-up (i think she actually said something to david l. like 'let's do this again when we're not drunk' or something to that effect), she was funny. i must admit, seeing celebs do stuff drunk is a laugh; i doubt anyone will ever top kim basinger's drunken oscar-presenter tirade, tho. classic. maybe sean young as 'the heckler' (i'm assuming she was pissed out of her gourd)...it's like the best of english humour, cringe-inducing hilarity.
Posted by: leahnz at July 1, 2008 06:34 PM
Watched Hancock at the sneak preview tonight. It is a very different superhero movie, I can see why DP is raving about it. I like this more than Ironman because of what it tries to do. It's not always a success, but the effort is there. This is one film that could be a little longer.
Posted by: pchu at July 1, 2008 06:51 PM
Jack be nimble
Jack be quick
Jack meet mugger
Jack give kick
Jack show swiftness
Jack show skill
Jack learn bullet faster still...
Posted by: mutinyco at July 1, 2008 10:03 PM
The ads for Hancock really did not sell one of it's made selling points: SACRIFICE. This entire movie is about SACRIFICE. Why they could not sell that in one ad is beyond me. Nevertheless, it's a pretty damn good movie that some people who might not get this level of emotional commitment, might see as "WUSSING OUT". While I see those people as some folks who could use a hug.
Posted by: IOIOIOI at July 1, 2008 11:42 PM
Saw Hancock last Wednesday at a preview and while there are definitely 3rd act problems, the first two thirds are wonderful.
Does it have a Last Action Hero vibe? A bit. But then again, I actually like Last Action Hero. It does do something genuinely different.
I have not seen Dark Knight but based on all of the over the top orgiastic reviews I am reading I gather it is really just a pumped up on steroids version of Batman Returns...Joker is the Penguin, Catwoman is Dent and Batman is the freak who is no better than any of them anyway.
Think Ledger should win an Oscar...they said that about Nicholson too. Everything they are saying about Ledger they said about Nicholson.
Hancock does something truly fresh and different. It will not be to everyone's taste, but kids will not run from it like we are being told and in no way is it a disaster.
Also...with Colours and the theme to Sanford and Son it has some of the funniest music cues I have heard in a film in a long time.
You could do a lot worse than check out Hancock this weekend.
Posted by: Nicol D at July 2, 2008 06:10 AM
IOIOIOI is absolutely right. SACRIFICE plotting. SACRIFICE tone. SACRIFICE interesting ideas. SACRIFICE Jason Bateman (who gets to do basically nothing after he gets drunk.) SACRIFICE coherency. SACRIFICE original vision (perhaps). SACRIFICE everything that might have made it a classic in order to get an 87-minute running time and not upset Will Smith fans who have come to expect (and accept) nothing more than mediocrity from him.
Posted by: Erik Childress at July 2, 2008 06:12 AM
Ohhhhh, and those who say the word "asshole" is overused are wrong. It is used to really funny effect especially in the scene with the French child.
Posted by: Nicol D at July 2, 2008 06:14 AM
I was on the fence about going, but since Sanford and Son was mentioned, I am so there. Why do you think I liked Daredevil so much? Sanford got a big shoutout there, too.
Posted by: Jerry Colvin at July 2, 2008 06:24 AM
I know this is off-topic but...
I just watched one of the trailers for The Wackness (I think it was "teaser 3" at quicktime) and that one line about Boyz II Men fucking kills. I will have to see this movie pronto when I get back to Toronto.
Posted by: a_loco at July 2, 2008 06:55 AM
Posted by: a_loco at July 2, 2008 06:56 AM
If I am correct, Charlize Theron appears in the later trailer for Hancock for like a second. Which makes me wonder: if they're not really giving her a decent part with a decent amount of screentime, why bother hiring her in the first place? There are a lot of cheaper actresses out there. For those who have seen it, does having Theron make it a better film?
Posted by: ployp at July 2, 2008 10:27 AM
Just got back... OMG, I will not be able to get that image out of my head anytime I think of the Sanford and Son theme...! I agree with others that the last third could be better... but I liked it.
Posted by: Jerry Colvin at July 2, 2008 11:07 AM
"Which makes me wonder: if they're not really giving her a decent part with a decent amount of screentime..."
Theron fans will - not - be disappointed. It spoils nothing to say she has a huge and pivotal role.
Posted by: Nicol D at July 2, 2008 11:50 AM
BTW, slightly off topic, but Hancock appears to be significantly 'angrier' and 'drunker' than Tony Stark on the worst of his days. If anything I wish Stark had been drunker in the movie.
Posted by: jeffmcm at July 2, 2008 12:15 PM
I agree. I enjoyed Hancock more than Iron Man and the feeling I had coming out of the theater was I would really have liked to see Peter Berg's Iron Man.
Posted by: Monco at July 2, 2008 02:21 PM
Nicol D, good to know. Thanks!
Posted by: ployp at July 2, 2008 09:16 PM
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