Smith takes rightful place among top actors with 'Hancock'

This is my take on Ryan Kathman’s review of the Will Smith’s movie Hancock.
First, I must say that I completely, unequivocally, and absolutely LOVED the movie. The dramatic twists and turns in the movie made it even more enjoyable, as life is full of surprises. Hence, after more than twenty years of acting, (Jason) Batman got his do. Hancock appears to be a defining moment for Jason Batman as a movie star; finally. The consummate professional and movie star Mr. Smith has brought creditability to the superhero genre for us 30Somethings in the way Robert Downey, jr. brought it to the 40Somethings in Iron man. I’ve posted the review because Ryan expressed my sentiments about the movie exactly. Surprisingly, the critics were split. However, with $107 million at the box office, it’s clear the public loved it. It appears…the people have spoken.

Ryan Kathman wrote in the DailyNabraskan.com news:

Now that Tom Cruise has officially become irrelevant, Tom Hanks has settled nicely into middle age, Johnny Depp continues to explore only quirky territory (thankfully) and Brad Pitt's love life seems more important than his screen life, is there truly any bigger marquee actor than Will Smith?

Sure, George Clooney is a "movie star" in the classic sense, and Steve Carell or Jim Carrey definitely have the comedy genre locked down, but when it comes to the summer blockbuster, popcorn movie-you've-been-waiting-for, Hollywood's been telling us for years that Smith is the hot ticket and we seem happy to agree.

But unlike the Cruises and Keanu Reeveses whose stars have ultimately faded due to a lack of range and/or appeal, Smith proves again in his latest July 4 tent-pole flick "Hancock" why he actually deserves to be the undisputed king of the box office.

First of all, Smith turns a potentially one-note concept cooked up by two TV writers (Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan) into a flesh-and-blood character.

Instead of just a misanthropic superhero who makes all of L.A. angry with him because of the damage he causes while saving the day, in Smith's hands, Hancock is a hilariously bitter and reluctant hero who turns to liquor not as an amusing plot device, but as a refuge to numb his confusion over his own identity (if you mixed Jason Bourne with Superman - minus the tights - and TV's House, you'd have Hancock). The reason all those previews seem a bit stilted is because the caustic Hancock is generous with the expletives and the likable Smith delivers his most "colorful" lines with verve.

Secondly, the star knows how to pick good projects with pedigreed collaborators. Peter Berg - the brilliant actor-turned-auteur behind both film and television versions of "Friday Night Lights" as well as last year's excellent Iraq War pic "The Kingdom" - has joined fellow thesp John Favreau (who helmed "Iron Man," the new superhero standard) as a new crop of filmmakers who will hopefully dethrone Michael Bay and Brett Ratner so our future blockbusters will actually have substance as well as style.

Berg's hand-held, overlapping dialogue technique lends an authenticity to the film that helps it stand apart in the superhero genre by giving us a recognizable world instead of Metropolis or Gotham.

Berg and Smith have some help, of course, from great supporting turns by the reliably hilarious Jason Bateman as a PR consultant who offers to help clean up Hancock's image, and the unfairly beautiful and talented Charlize Theron as Bateman's wife. It's nice to see Bateman really start to carve out a niche on the big screen in his largest film role yet and Theron holds her own against Smith while letting her beauty be secondary to her acting.

The team manages to highlight the mediocre script's strengths - Smith and Bateman's scenes as well as Hancock's early verbal sparring with ungrateful citizens - while downplaying its weaknesses such as the occasionally corny theme about trying to change the world. As for those who might complain about a plot twist that seems a bit telegraphed, I would argue that the reveal is all the more rewarding for its expertly placed foreshadowing.

Ultimately, the movie works because of Smith's unique blend of the everyman qualities he's had on display since 1994's "Independence Day" (his first blockbuster), the colorful comic timing that made "Men In Black" and "Bad Boys" great rides, and the dramatic chops he flashed way back in "Six Degrees of Separation" only to fully realize in "Ali" and "The Pursuit of Happyness."

In last year's grossly underappreciated "I Am Legend," Smith was the movie, delivering a powerhouse performance that made Hanks' "Cast Away" look like a day at the beach. There's a stoic sadness that bridges his "Legend" character to "Hancock," making it even harder to remember that this is the same cocky young kid who introduced rap music to the mainstream and sometimes looked wide-eyed and awkward in his cheesy early 1990s sitcom.

But because he transcends racial barriers while never failing to embrace his own roots, because he actually shares his scenes with other actors instead of demanding the spotlight, and because he hasn't yet had a meltdown on Oprah or got into a screaming match with Matt Lauer, Smith has earned his place atop the list of marquee male stars.

Let's just hope all those Scientology rumors aren't true.

Source: Reviewed by Ryan Kathman’s in the Dailynabaskan.com