DVD
REVIEW: HANCOCK
11/22/08
SYNOPSIS:
Academy Award® nominee Will
Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness) stars in this action-packed
comedy as Hancock, a sarcastic hard-living and misunderstood
superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public. When
Hancock grudgingly agrees to an extreme makeover from
idealistic publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, Juno), his
life and reputation rise from the ashes and all seems right
again – until he meets a woman (2003 Academy Award® winner
Charlize Theron, Actress in a Leading Role, Monster) with
similar powers to his and the key to his secret past.
REVIEW: What a great
idea! Sounds like a really cool story. The previews are
amazing. The cast looks like a lot of fun. The special
effects are out of this world. Hancock has got nothing to
envy Superman. All these thoughts ran through my mind before
actually seeing the film. It started pretty good. It was
captivating and funny with decent action and special
effects. The story was moving along nicely too, until it hit
some sharp turns and speed bumps which took it to the realm
of “huh?”. Some of the twists were pretty cool, but some of
them were not. What a shame because it was going so well. It
seems like they tried to spice up the plot but they ended up
over complicating it when it would have been better off
being just plain, simple, and straightforward. Superhero
movie storylines do not need to be overly elaborate, the
action and special effects, though, do. In this case,
practically every aspect of the movie was pretty good except
for the way the plot was laid out towards the end of the
movie.
Hancock (Will Smith) means well whenever he does a hero deed
but he brings new meaning to the phrase “damage control”.
Dealing with his internal struggles and his poor external
image to the very people he tries to help, leaves him in a
state of loneliness and carelessness. But don’t judge this
book by its cover because there is good in him, we can feel
it. He just needs for people to be a little grateful and
accepting and he needs some really good P.R. training. This
is where the ever-optimistic P.R. specialist Ray Embrey
(Jason Bateman) comes in to save the day. Will Smith does
and yet another fine performance with this role. He made it
his own. I’ve seen better Bateman work, but this one was
okay. Charlize Theron as Mary Embrey was right on as well
and it doesn’t hurt that her eyes mesmerize. Overall, it is
the Hancock character that steals your attention and your
heart. He is different, but he is still very human. Luckily,
the performances and these characters are backed up by a
script that is sharp, witty and easy to follow. The
combination of cinematography and special effects also help
keep the movie afloat even though they start to deteriorate
towards the end. The costumes were interesting too. All this
put together (the acting, the dialogue, the action and
special effects) helps cover up the weaknesses in the
storyline.
I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. I thought
it would be the surprise mega-blockbuster of the season.
Not! But it is not a bad movie. It was plenty fun to watch
but just not as good as I was expecting. Director Peter Berg
can hold his head high with this work even though it has its
flaws. It is an adequate follow up to his last work, one of
my personal favorites, The Kingdom. Yeah, okay, so I might
be a little biased, you caught me. Regardless, add this one
to your summer movie queue.
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
DVD: The 1 Disc
Unrated Edition of Hancock includes a total of five
interesting behind the scenes featurettes, These special
features take viewers beyond the making of the film,
covering everything from the idea for the film , to
making of action scenes, to the creation of special
effects. It is not normal to see the 1 disc edition of a
DVD include these many special features. Definitely a
must have for Hancock and Will Smith fans.
VIDEO:
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish
French - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Superhumans: The Making of Hancock This is your
regular "Making of" featurette. Includes comments from the
producer, director and cast. Short but interesting
(12:51)
Seeing the Future: This is an inside look on how
computer visualization was used in the making of the film.
It gives a good inside on how the visual effects were made
(15:59)
Building a Better Hero: The filmmakers talk about
Visual Effects Designer John Dykstra approached for the
creation of the special effects for Hancock (8:15)
Bumps and Bruises A good behind the scenes about the
action scenes for the film (10:28)
Behind the Scenes with ‘Dirty Pete’ Director
Peter Berg
talks
about his approached for shooting a scene (3:57)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
| FILM REVIEW |
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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| BONUS
FEATURES |
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