Fancast: The Big Picture

Hancock - 7/2
A riff on Marvel Comics' "Power Man" Luke Cage, if Cage were less of a streetwise Hercules and more of a drunk jerk that Bonnie Tyler would never hold out for. Therefore, Hancock earns an honorary mention as a comic book movie, even if it's not based on an actual comic book.

Will Smith's recent change of direction in terms of what he brings to the big movies like this, as evidenced with his surprisingly dark range in I Am Legend (after apparently learning his lesson about his "Aw Hell Naw" shtick with I, Robot), seems to be on display here as well as a surly, bitter pseudo-superhero who inadvertently causes as much trouble as he prevents. It takes saving the life of a PR agent (the thankfully omnipresent Jason Bateman) to make Hancock realize he might have to start giving a damn about his public image, and the struggle to straighten up and fly right won't be as easy as chucking a whale into the ocean.

There is definitely an inherent risk about doing a comedy film based on an original characters - My Super Ex-Girlfriend will attest to that - but the sheer box office power of The Fresh Prince should be more than enough to counteract that potential hitch, since the man is almost a superhero unto himself these days. As close as Hollywood gets to one, at least.

Watch the trailer for Hancock.
Check out the change in Will Smith's big-movie style in a clip from I Am Legend.
Watch Will Smith in his last "Aw Hell Naw" role in I, Robot.
Watch the trailer for My Super Ex-Girlfriend, starring Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson.