by Donald Lind

Created on: July 07, 2008

"Hancock' Soars Early Then Crashes Back to Earth"

Meet John Hancock (Will Smith). He's technically a superhero; he's impervious to pain, he can fly great distances and he's impossibly strong. He's just like Superman. . . just without the cape. Or the love and support of the public. Or the nice-guy attitude. In fact, the word "superhero" hardly applies to Hancock if you ask people on the streets. The word they'd use to describe him is a vulgar slang term for a body cavity that usually doesn't see the light of day. That's fine; Hancock feels the same way about them. But make sure you don't ever call him that when he's in earshot.

At the start of the film, Smith and director Peter Berg make "Hancock" out to be a sort of deconstruction of the myth of the infallible nature of superheroes. Never mind the loneliness and angst that comes with being an all-powerful demigod, perhaps the only one. Plenty of superheroes have dealt with those issues already and Hancock is no exception. "Hancock" is brilliant at depicting how a superhero is a double-edge sword. On one hand, he/she is the savior of lives. On the other hand, look at the collateral damage the heroics causes, all of the other injuries, wrecks and mayhem.

In a way, Hancock's story is told through the way the public perceives him. Despite the best of intentions, he always seems to make others' lives miserable, and that leads him to basically stop caring. He has these powers; he can help, and if his help's not appreciated, who cares what they think? We first meet the world's newest hero, passed out, stinking drunk on a bench in Los Angeles while cops are being ripped apart on the freeway during a high-speed pursuit of automatic weapon-toting bad guys. He's even dressed so badly, a panhandler would feel pity for him. Finally, Hancock explodes into action (after fighting off a hangover). This first action scene in the film, photographed by Berg's constantly moving camera, is also brilliant at showing further reasons for Hancock's misery; not only does he save lives and get no respect in return, but he also has to deal with powers he's not quite mastered.

When all is said and done, Hancock racks up an impressive $9 million in damages to public and private property. At this point, everyone he's locked up wants him dead and everyone he's saved and likely, a lot of people he's never even met, are suing him. One day, he saves a motorist from an oncoming train (this causes the train to derail, causing further damage). While

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