Berg goes into stylistic overdrive to try to distract us from how lame this whole development and conclusion is. But when the character whose secret is in danger of being exposed acts in a way that telegraphs to the world that very secret, well, it just doesn’t make any sense. Unless, of course, the logic is to throw in some spiffy action sequences.
But even prior to all of that, Berg’s signature hand-held style (seen in Friday Night Lights and The Kingdom) is really out of place in this summer tent pole wannabe that, given its heightened reality, requires something more polished and less visually confusing. You’re there to laugh and have a good time, not be distracted by constant headache-inducing camera jerks. Then, too, are utterly stupid moments (played with dramatic tension) of criminals ominously confronting Hancock or seeking revenge against him knowing full well who he is and what he can do to them. I mean, seriously?!
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The full name of Will Smith’s character, incidentally, is John Hancock—directly inspired by the prominent signature on our Declaration of Independence. So given that this debacle is released on the weekend we celebrate that signing, it’s a sad irony indeed. Granted, this scathing review and countless others won’t keep Hancock from opening huge over the Fourth of July weekend, but count me surprised if this movie lives on once its true identity is finally exposed.
CAUTIONS:
- Drugs/Alcohol: Drinking, mostly by the troubled hero Hancock.
- Language/Profanity: PG-13 levels of profanity throughout (twice by children), much of it delivered cavalierly by Hancock, including one “F” word (which is becoming common in PG-13 fare). Some dialogue is sexually coarse.
- Sex/Nudity: Very little. At one point, Hancock’s pants are burned and tattered and part of his bottom can be seen.
- Violence/Other: A lot of action-violence and destruction (shootings, car wrecks, buildings damaged, etc.). A hand is severed off and carried around. A scene of multiple point-blank range shootings. Hancock literally shoves one prisoner’s head up another’s rear end.
Jeffrey Huston is a film director, writer and producer at Steelehouse Productions in Tulsa, Okla. He is also cohost of the "Steelehouse Podcast,” along with Steelehouse Executive Creative Mark Steele, where each week they discuss God in pop culture. To listen to the weekly podcast, please visit www.steelehouse.com or click here. You can also subscribe to the "Steelehouse Podcast” through iTunes.