At this point, nobody would argue that Will Smith deserves his own superhero franchise. Certainly, the filmmakers who've watched him deliver feats of box-office glory one July after another already consider him heroic. But they let him down this year with "Hancock," a mishmash of a movie that no mere mortal could save.
Part of the problem with Peter Berg's ill-conceived action flick is that while Smith is perfectly suited to saving the world, he makes a surprisingly unconvincing bad guy. And John Hancock is not, when we first meet him, a likely candidate for Superhero of the Year.
For one thing, although he has unearthly strength and speed, he's an unapologetic drunk. And for another, his defiantly surly attitude could use a serious adjustment. While he'll perform the occasional good deed, he does it with so much reluctance that he usually gets more grief than gratitude.
After he saves PR exec Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, likable as always) from a speeding train, Ray brings Hancock home for dinner. Despite the objections of his disapproving wife (Charlize Theron), Ray has decided that his new project will be remaking Hancock's public image.
Hancock grudgingly goes along with Ray's plan, since deep down he's just a lost soul hoping for a few genuine connections.
An ongoing bout of amnesia means he can't remember anything about his past - not even how he got the abilities that make him feel like an alienated freak. While everyone seems to want something from him, all he wants is to figure out who he really is.
Unfortunately, the movie suffers from the same sort of identity crisis. There's a great idea here, but it's buried within a muddled story that lurches between dark comedy and maudlin drama.
The big twist is telegraphed so early that it feels silly and anticlimatic when it actually arrives. And without strong direction or a solid script to count on, Smith seems downright uncomfortable playing an irritable antihero.
Granted, he's always a charismatic presence, and he still has the power to draw supersized crowds. But "Hancock" gives proof that even summer's most reliable star is human after all.
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