HANCOCK

John Hancock (Will Smith) is an unhappy and reluctant superhero who is living in his own world. For some unknown reason, Hancock is depressed and has started drinking very heavily. He has saved many lives in Los Angles over the years, but in doing so, he has no regards for damaging buildings, trains, roads, cars, or anything that gets in his way to get the job done. The last time he captured several criminals, it cost the city $9 million to fix the damages. The public has had enough of Hancock, and they want him to stop or go to another city. Then one day, Hancock saves the life of Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) from being run over by a train. Ray is a Public Relations executive who now can go home to his wife and child, because Hancock was there. Ray owes Hancock his life, and he makes it his mission to change his superhero's image and have the public cheering him. Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), believes Hancock can not be fixed, and she doesn't want Ray to be hurt.

Hancock will make my list of the 10 most disappointing films of 2008. The first half of the film was very promising. Will Smith's portrayal of a lushful super-hero is very memorable and funny. Unfortunately, the screenplay takes a wrong turn at the the film's halfway point. I don't know if one could call it a plot twist, but the story surprising takes its characters away from from where the first half of the film is taking them. This change in story-line ruined the entire film for me. Hancock gets a "3".

Hancock is directed by Peter Berg which is his 5th effort in this role. Although Hancock isn't his best, his first 4 films deserve to be seen: The Kingdom (6), Friday Night Lights (9), The Rundown (9), and Very Bad Things (6).