I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of superhero movies. The massive budgets and wonderful characters that I have known from my youth are not enough to entice me to go. These films are actually one of the few styles of films that make it over to where I live in Asia and they actually WILL be in English for a weekend or two but i still don't go. I'm just not interested. That being said, i really enjoyed this film despite some problems with the physics.

I think part of the reason that I liked this movie was because unless i am mistaken, Hancock is completely made up and is in no way connected to DC or Marvel. We don't know anything about the guy and there is no nerds out there to piss off by doing it wrong. Basically, John Hancock (Will Smith) is an extreme alcoholic who possesses superpowers but for the most part doesn't really give a damn about helping people. He does help from time to time and he normally ends up causing much more damage than he prevents with his intervention.

His superpowers are very reminiscent of Superman: He can fly, he has super-strength, he's impervious to all sorts of damage including bullets and knives, basically he is omnipotent.

His life changes one day when on a routine rescue that could have been handled many ways better than he did handle it Hancock meets Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) who is a public relations expert who wants to help Hancock clean up his image.

Embrey succeeds in a few ways, such as getting Hancock to wear a uniform befitting a superhero, how to take of and land without destroying the pavement, and how to be nicer to people. It is quite amusing actually, but not so much in a slapstick way. Maybe it is just me, but I really like how they executed this in the film.

I'm not going to reveal much more but let's just say that the story doesn't take the usual pathway to conclusion. Unless someone spoils it for you, you are not going to know the twist that takes place in this movie. It isn't the usual "Kryptonite hurts Superman" stuff.

I might be over-rating this film based on my own personal bias, but that is the only way that I know how to do these things. Feel free to disagree. I have watched this movie dozens of times and will likely do so again, because it is great. It is an inventive story and the special effects are done well. They do lose some points from elements of the film that I didn't like and i will explain those next.

8 / 10

The rating isn't centered because once you use the "#" to increase font size the < /center> does not take the editor out of centering everything. If someone knows how to sort this out that would be great.

Moving on, there are going to be mild spoilers ahead, so if you haven't seen the movie but would like to, turn back now.

problems I had with the film

• Everyone knows that Hancock is impervious to bullets, but yet they still shoot at him.
• Hancock cannot be harmed by bullets but the suit that is made for him does not share this characteristic. Yet his outfit is always perfect even after being shot hundreds of times
• The scene where he throws that bratty French kid up in the sky, when the boy comes back down Hancock catches him without leaving the ground. This would split the boy in half. Just because you catch someone who is falling at terminal velocity doesn't mean they won't get hurt (or splatter)
• When Hancock goes to prison the inmates are prepared to give him the usual new-guy-in-prison beatdown. They know who Hancock is and that he can lift trains in air, yet they still try this and appear to be confident in their ability to win. It doesn't make sense but i guess it was for comic relief.
• Mary seems to know an awful lot about her and Hancock's past, despite the fact that she is meant to be afflicted with amnesia as well

There are many others, I just don't want this thing to end up too long.