Has it really been more than a decade since Will Smith first watched us all respond to his first July 4 bomb? Independence Day, and by extension Will Smith, sort of began the huge July 4 action blockbuster tradition.  Opening weekend numbers since ID4 (which earned $50.2MM) have been mixed–Men In Black earned $51.1; Armageddon, $36.1; Wild Wild West, $27.7; The Perfect Storm, $41.3; AI, $29.4; Men in Black II, $52.1; Terminator 3, $44.0; Spider-Man 2, $88.2; War of the Worlds, $64.9; Superman Returns, $52.5; & Transformers, $70.5*–and yet, there is still some expectation for greatness.

Trailers for Hancock intrigued me.  I thought it was going to be an interesting character study of an anti-(super)hero with a mix of action and dark comedy.  The film should have been a lot of fun — Will Smith, Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron… what more do you need?

Oh… that’s right, a decent plot!

Smith plays John Hancock-a drunken asshole with superpowers.  He tends to save the day, but leaves a trail of destruction in his wake.  Plus, he gets more upset when the bad guys break his bottle of liquor rather than the law.  Bateman plays Ray Embrey, “the Bono of Public Relations,” determined to save the world with his pet project, All Heart.  Unfortunately, his pitches are weak and he has yet to land any major sponsorships.  While driving home, he gets stuck in traffic on a railroad crossing as a train heads toward him.  Hancock arrives to save Ray, but in the process destroys a couple of cars and derails the train.  The crowd turns on him, berating his every move, but Ray sees an opportunity to return the favor, and attempts to save Hancock by teaching him how to change his image.

Hancock joins Ray for dinner, meets his wife (Theron) who is wary of him, and son who adores him.  Ray trains Hancock how to be a better hero and less of a douche.  At a press conference, Hancock apologizes for his actions and willingly enters prison, all in an attempt to make the city miss him.  While in prison, Hancock meets a couple of convicts he put away.  In a scene you may have seen in the trailer, Hancock introduces one convict’s head to the other’s butt in a bit of impossible anatomy.  Well, I don’t think I’ll ever hear the theme from “Sanford & Son” the same way again.

Ray’s plan works–while Hancock spends a couple of weeks in prison, crime rises until finally the Mayor asks him for help with a bank heist.  Clad in a new leathery superhero costume, a kind and considerate Hancock flies in to take the bad guys out and win over the public.  The main bank thief meets the previously humiliated inmates in prison, and the three plan to take revenge on Hancock any way possible.

What hurts this film most are the poorly developed subplots.  Had it focused more on Hancock’s origins or on the bad guys out for revenge, it could have been more entertaining–instead, neither story is very believable, nor do I feel like I should care how either turns out.  Plus, due to really bad pacing, this movie (which clocks in at just over 90 minutes) felt well over 2 hours.

That isn’t to say that people aren’t going out in droves to see this movie–It’ll probably end up grossing over $100MM in its first five days and Will Smith will continue to feel like the Box Office King (or Prince).  However, this is probably a film you can wait until DVD to watch.  The effects aren’t so spectacular that you need to see them on the big screen.  The only real reason to watch this is for the performances.  Smith, Bateman & Theron all do well with what little they’re given.  It’s good to see Bateman & Theron back in each other’s arms, but I kept wanting her to speak with a British accent and wear wonky hats.

Hancock

*Source: the ever-reliable Wikipedia