Hancock, 5/10
I actually watched this over 2 years ago, but it's been on my mind recently, and I think it's become a much more interesting film retroactively to talk about. This is a Will Smith superhero movie from 2008, where Smith plays Hancock, a drunk, inept superhero in Los Angeles. He's an alcoholic loner and pretty much hated by the general populace because of all the collateral damage he causes, but he's so enormously powerful (like close to Superman level) that he's the only game in town whenever something bad happens. His life starts changing after he saves a family from a train disaster, and the father (Jason Bateman) starts coaching him to become a better superhero.
Having been released just before the MCU took over the world, this film occupies an interesting, singular place in superhero media. It's after the Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and all the shitty superhero adaptations of the 00s, when the genre had just ironed out its kinks and was getting the formula for actually good adaptations down. It's not based on any existing property, which is super rare (heh) for a superhero film. It's actually playing with some pretty interesting ideas for the genre: there are no other superheroes, nor are there supervillains in the world. Hancock is completely alone in his predicament, there's no Justice League or Xavier's School to join. In this it actually succeeds in an element where so many superhero films fail: conveying the main character's separation and isolation from the world. It's best illustrated in a pretty crass scene for the genre where Hancock is getting laid, but right before finishing he has to tell the chick to run away, lest his climax literally blow her brains out.
Hancock himself is also a very interesting take on the archetype, and this is where it being an original script works in its favor: there's no continuity or established characterization to complain about. Hancock isn't a plucky newcomer or a teenager discovering his powers, he's a well established grown man who's been doing his thing for decades. He's bitter, uncaring and resigned to the world just hating him, he's almost like what Shrek was to fairytale characters. As such the usual superhero arc is nowhere to be seen. The film is more about Hancock rediscovering himself, relearning empathy after, and trying to become a more responsible, positive person. It's actually really engaging and adult, and has only grown more interesting in the era of oversaturated cookie-cutter MCU slop.
So how is it only a 5/10? Well, the positive elements listed above are like one third, at best one half of the movie. The rest of it is a haphazard mess with disastrous tonal issues, too many plot elements, and it being basically two films mashed into one. Jason Bateman's character's subplot is sooooo schmaltzy and sentimental. The first third of the film lays out all the elements for a really interesting, deconstructive character study, and then resolves those elements in the most patronizing, predictably Hollywood way. The entire second half is basically a whole, entirely different film on its own, and it just becomes an absolute mess. There's one really intense and emotionally charged scene in particular where the music should be something from the Bloodborne soundtrack, but instead the film goes for some upbeat jazz, as if to try to make the scene funny somehow. It's just baffling.
One of the most frustrating aspects of this film is how clearly it's being restrained by its PG-13 rating. This is a story whose setup could easily appear in The Boys, but the film can't even show blood properly. As such it's completely robbed of its amazing potential and has to settle for watered down, family friendly versions of scenes where some proper gore or sense of physical consequence could have an incredible impact. For crying out loud, the movie's first action scene has Ludacris's "Move B!tch" playing in the background, and has to censor one half of the title. This, too, makes this film interesting to watch in this day and age: its premise is simply too ahead of its time to properly cash in on. The film also looks butt-ugly. This is smack dab in the middle of the "teal and orange" era of film color grading, and as a result there are no black or white people in the movie, only orange people. Everyone looks really greasy and sweaty most of the time, and while the effects hold up decently well, there's pretty much nothing to write home about in terms of visuals. The film has good actors, but the messy script keeps everyone's acting to just being okay.
If there ever was a film desperately crying out for a remake or a proper sequel, this is it. There have been a few films with somewhat similar premises (like The Old Guard with Charlize Theron funnily enough), but in the era of Invincible, The Boys and Joker this premise is a gold mine waiting to be rediscovered.
