‘Hancock’ is a big summer downer

I was among those who attended the advance screening last night of “Hancock,” Peter Berg’s film that stars Will Smith as a drunken jerk of a would-be superhero.

I was really looking forward to seeing the movie. The trailers that had been playing for months led me to believe that the film would be a pleasant change of pace from the standard superhero story – sort of an off-color look at the genre that avoided the Boy Scout feel of Superman or the vigilante darkness of Batman .

And that’s just exactly what the film is during its first half. Smith plays a guy, who unaccountably has super powers, who exists on the fringes of Los Angeles society. Though able to fly and do superhuman feats of strength (though he doesn’t have x-ray vision), he spends most of his time drunk.

When he does step in to “help,” whether it be to fight crime or save some Angeleno from a speeding train, he usually makes a mess of things. In one apprehension of three machine-gun-wielding criminals, he costs the city a reported $9 million – a record total, trumpets a TV broadcaster.

He gets adopted by an idealistic public-relations guy (Jason Bateman), who sets out to rehabilitate Hancock’s image. He even brings the one-man wrecking crew home for dinner, introducing him to his wife (Charlize Theron) and son. So far, so good.

But then the film take a seriously mistaken turn. I won’t give it away, but it’s predictable. Even without knowing what was coming, I wasn’t surprised when a shocking twist occurs. It’s there for anyone to see.

That twist, though, turns the entire film from something that could have been a great comment on our collective obsession with superheroes into something that … well, I’m not sure what the film is trying to say. But the tone certainly turns away from off-color and becomes something purely maudlin.

“Hancock” has to rank as one of the most disappointing summer films I have ever seen. It wastes a great concept and a great performance by Smith.

Not what I would have expected from Berg following “The Kingdom.”

Below: Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron and Will Smith appeared on the MTV show “Total Request Live” to promote their film “Hancock.”

Photo by Associated Press