In a summer where superheroes clearly have staked their territory, Hancock makes the biggest mess of all of them. The weird thing about this mess is that it’s what the film intended. Part superhero movie, part whacked-out theology, and part jerk-gets-redeemed story, Hancock has so many irons in the fire that the audience just doesn’t know what the hell is going on.

Director Peter Berg turns in a celluloid train wreck that’s filled with the overuse of the gutter version of “anus” to such an extent that it becomes a one-joke film. Okay, we get it. John Hancock (Will Smith) is a jerk. He’s the king of potholes, dodging airplanes, and sloshing around with a big bottle of booze. He’s homeless, and hates the world around him. Now, I don’t know if he’s a jerk because of these things, or that being a jerk led him to being homeless, but frankly, I wasn’t really compelled to care.

I don’t know what it is about today’s filmmakers that feel the necessity to drive in the obvious (that Hancock is a jerk) to the point where even a headache would be a relief. The fact that the first time we hear the word is from a small child is supposed to be funny, but again, it’s stating the obvious.

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Steve Carrell picks up his role from this film’s predecessor, Bruce Almighty. Evan has the misfortune of retaining Bruce’s director (Tom Shadyac) as well, which is unfortunate. Shadyac’s claim to fame is to provide Jim Carrey with his best-known vehicle, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. However, without Carry’s rubber-faced antics, his direction, and the movie as a whole, seems a bit lackluster.

Enter Industrial Light and Magic with their jaw-dropping flood sequence. Oh, yikes. I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? Silly me. Read more »