NOTE: There are a couple of minor spoilers in this review, but the box art itself gives away the major one so I don’t really feel too bad about it.
The concept behind Hancock is great as it brings the consequences of being superhuman front and center, with an emphasis on “human.” Unfortunately the execution ends up being a problem as it brings to light more problems than solutions. Hancock, as portrayed by Will Smith, is a man that has let his loneliness get the better of him. He is a superhero without an alter-ego. Instead he has a forgotten past and a tendency to not care about the damage he causes despite his urge to stop evil and protect people. Quite simply, he’s a superhero with a complex and that is intriguing, especially when it is done in such a raw fashion. To bad the filmmakers didn’t seem to have much confidence in their product as they turn to simple tricks to explain their story as opposed to letting it become its own thing.
On Blu-ray and DVD Sony offers up an extended look at the film adding an additional ten minutes to the story. However, if you are like many others that saw Hancock in theaters and hope some holes will be filled and the additional running time will help in slowing the story down and solving the abrupt changes in direction forget it. The unrated edition does nothing for the story outside of adding a few odds and ends here and there that simply make the film a little longer.
The first change comes shortly into the film after Hancock has captured a group of bad guys and leaves them sitting in midair atop the Capitol Records building. The addition comes in the form of extending the following bar sequence adding a female admirer who ends up going back to Hancock’s place where they have sex. The climax of the scene comes in the form of Hancock’s orgasm resulting in him firing sperm through the metal roof of his trailer. What follows is supposed to have you feeling sorry for him since the woman runs for her life, but you are just staring at the screen wondering if what you just saw was ever considered a good idea.
There is also an added bit before Hancock goes to jail and the front and tail end of the battle between Mary (Charlize Theron) and Hancock and actually the unrated version cleans up an editing issue I hadn’t noticed until now. When Mary leaves Hancock’s trailer in the theatrical version she starts to get into a car, but she didn’t come in a car, she flew there, which is proven right away as the following aerial shot doesn’t show any car. In the unrated version she now drives up to Hancock’s trailer as opposed to flying in. Bad bit of editing in the theatrical edition and the unrated version actually points it out. There is also some added dialogue at the end of their battle where Hancock tells Mary she’s the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. It’s a weird thing for him to say at that moment and was rightly edited out of the theatrical version.
As it turns out, extended scenes and all, this film is still highly flawed. The moment between Mary and Hancock in the hospital is perhaps the best bit in the whole flick, but the tornado battle and coincidental and unexplained prison break that bookend the moment are what turn this film from a winner into a jumbled mess. Hancock brings so many cool ideas to the forefront that the decision to make the ultimate bad guy some idiot that tried to rob a bank and somehow managed to escape from prison is such a disappointment, especially since there is talk of Hancock being a god and having lived for over 3,000 years. I mean, 3,000 years is a long time to ultimately be killed off by some idiot bank robber with one hand.
As for the rest of the features, there is a group of seven behind-the-scenes featurettes and a pop-up featurette that plays exclusively on the Blu-ray version throughout the entire film. None of it really offers all that much in terms of anything interesting, but it is sort of funny to watch the featurette on how crazy director Peter Berg is; I may not like this movie, but Berg is still one of my favorite filmmakers.
Overall, this is a film to skip. If you missed it in theaters give it a rent and forget about it. There remains talk of a potential sequel in the future and considering this film made over $250 million despite an overwhelming amount of negative reviews I would say a sequel is inevitable, especially with box-office golden boy Will Smith as the lead.
