Hancock
2008 · Directed by Peter Berg
Original language: English
- fantasy
- action
The story
Hancock is a down-and-out superhero who's forced to employ a PR expert to help repair his image when the public grows weary of all the damage he's inflicted during his lifesaving heroics. The agent's idea of imprisoning the antihero to make the world miss him proves successful, but will Hancock stick to his new sense of purpose or slip back into old habits?
What it’s like
Bright, sun-blasted Los Angeles streets and gleaming downtown towers, shot in a glossy digital sheen with saturated blues and washed-out grey skies that flatten into a grimy, unsettled mood. Action is kinetic and handheld in places, with rough, bruising crashes and wide aerial sweeps over the city as the hero flies low over traffic. Interiors feel lived-in and a little shabby: a rundown motel, a cramped apartment, the cool hush of a hospital corridor, all lit by harsh fluorescents or dim evening lamps. The score is big and brassy in the set pieces and softens into quiet piano during the tender moments. Vibe: rowdy, self-deprecating, warmly sardonic, with a bruised heart underneath. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a casual movie night with friends, or a comfort rewatch when you want big spectacle with a laugh. Pacing is brisk with a looser middle, and the central arc follows a lonely, abrasive man slowly learning to care about other people and about one woman in particular. Violence is frequent and cartoonishly physical, with property damage, explosions and fistfights, but little gore; sexual content is mild and romantic, and language is coarse. For people who want superhero spectacle with a sharp comic edge and an affectionate, slightly melancholy core.
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