Hancock & Movie Dryspell

The summer blockbuster season is winding down and it's down to the weekly releases. The bad news is... no more multiple movies to keep me busy. Good news is... there are some good stuff coming out every week. This week there's Hellboy and the new Chinese movie by Tony Leung. Next week is time for The Dark Knight. For now, we're stuck with Hancock.

HANCOCK is an attempt to make a realistic superhero. Like how superheroes can sometimes do more bad than good when they destroy buildings and bust up the roads, even when they are fighting to save the day. There was some potential in this movie, but I think the director/writers just didn't dare to take it to the next level. So in the end, the movie just ended up feeling a little blah.

They tried to explore a little about how superheroics can hurt more than help, but then they resolve it without much thought. They tried to make Will Smith a hero with a difference. But then they chickened out and show him turning over a new leaf in no time. They tried to build an interesting mythology behind how he belongs to a breed of super-humans. But they never really fleshed out the story.

In the end, Hancock just feels bland. It's not bad. There are some laughs and some nice effects. But in a movie season with great films like Iron Man and good films like Hulk, Hancock just ends up being severely mediocre. :)