Hancock (2008)
★½ — Hancock (2008)
Hancock arrived in the summer of 2008 riding an enormous wave of superhero fatigue discourse, arriving the same year as Iron Man and The Dark Knight but taking a very different angle on the genre. Director Peter Berg had spent the previous years building a reputation for muscular, grounded action (Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom) before pivoting hard into this $150 million studio blockbuster, one of the bigger bets Columbia Pictures placed that year. The script, originally titled Tonight, He Comes, had circulated Hollywood for years in a considerably darker form before being substantially reworked to suit Will Smith's star persona. Smith, then at the peak of his box office reliability, executive produced alongside Berg, and the film ultimately grossed over $629 million worldwide, making it a sizeable commercial success despite a notably mixed critical reception.
Hancock is a superhero movie with a promising idea, what if Superman was a drunk, antisocial jerk hated by the public?, that quickly spirals into a mess of tonal whiplash, wasted potential, and baffling choices. Will Smith, usually a charm machine, plays the title character as a bored, apathetic vigilante with zero accountability, flying around LA like a grumpy, hungover god. The first act has a dark, satirical edge that’s actually kind of interesting, Hancock trashes cities while “saving” people, gets arrested, becomes a meme before memes existed, it feels fresh, even bold. Then the film completely loses its mind in the second half, swapping gritty realism for a clunky origin story, forced romance, and a bizarre third-act twist that makes zero sense and undercuts everything that came before. Suddenly it’s not about redemption or fame or consequence, it’s about ancient immortal couples and awkward family dynamics. What started as a sharp(ish) satire turns into a generic, emotionally hollow action flick with no stakes and even less logic. The dialogue is cringey, the pacing lurches from slow to rushed, and the message (something about love and purpose) feels tacked on. It can’t decide if it wants to be edgy, heartfelt, or funny, so it tries all three and fails at each. For a genre built on larger-than-life heroes, Hancock somehow manages to feel both ridiculous and dull. Arguably one of the worst superhero films ever made. Not because it’s offensive or badly acted, but because it starts with fire and ends with a whimper. A once-in-a-lifetime misfire for Will Smith and a cautionary tale in how not to reinvent the genre.
Rating: ★½ | Year: 2008 | Watched: 2025-09-13
Where to watch (UK)
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Peter Berg: The Rundown (2003) · Lone Survivor (2013)
More with Will Smith: Suicide Squad (2016) · Shark Tale (2004) · I Am Legend (2007) · Men in Black 3 (2012)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More fantasy: Viy (1967) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
