Hancock Review

I absolutely love Will Smith. I have been watching him since he was the star of the 90's TV series, Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I knew then that he was going to be a huge star. I even like his music. He just has that "it" factor, as Simon Cowell from American Idol would say. When I saw the previews for the movie Hancock, I knew immediately that I wanted to see it. Unfortunately, I never got to the theatre but as soon as it came out on DVD, I snatched one up and my husband and I loved it so much, we watched it twice already.

Will Smith plays a superhero named John Hancock who is a heavy drinker with a bad mouth, a loner and not so nice to know. He is apparently the only one of his kind left on the planet. Although he does use his superpowers to rescue victims and catch thieves, he does so in such a drunken stupor that he causes thousands of dollars in damages during each rescue. The town doesn't want this kind of a hero and mostly everyone shuns him. His life takes a change of direction after he "saves" Ray Embrey, a public relations professional, who is played by Jason Bateman. Ray is very thankful unlike the others that have been "saved" and decides to help the superhero change his image to become a superhero that is admired. Ray's wife Mary, played by Charlize Theron, is not so keen on the idea for very good reason. What is that reason and does John Hancock make a successful transition and win the hearts of the community? You'll have to watch to find out!

Within the first five minutes, this movie had my husband and me in stitches but it did so using some light foul language. We knew right away that this was not going to be a children's superhero movie like Spiderman or Batman! It has a rating of PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language. I was a little bummed because my boy's ages seven and eleven wanted to watch it after they saw some of the superhero action. With that being said, Will Smith hit a grand slam with this character. I can't imagine anyone else delivering the sarcastic and funny lines better than he does. Jason Bateman plays his role to a T and is completely believable. Charlize Theron gives a good performance as well. There were scenes that we literally rewinded just to watch again because they were so funny. I don't want to give anything away but be sure not to miss the scenes with the thugs in the car in the beginning, the whale scene and the one where he is in jail and has a run in with a couple of inmates. Too funny!

Hancock has plenty of worth watching action, comedy and even some heartwarming drama at the end. We loved this movie and it is definitely one that we will watch repeatedly. Although not intended for children, I do recommend watching this movie and you'll probably agree that it's a keeper! I give this film a 4 star rating. I would have gone with 5 if some of the adult language and innuendos were scaled back to be suitable for kids.