Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

Will Smith as a superhero on Independence Day -- people should be lining up to see it, because somehow that's what summer in the U.S. is all about, right? Well, sadly, Will Smith as Hancock, the reluctant superhero, never quite lives up to the potential of its premise.

The first half of Hancock feels all wrong, because Will Smith as a superhero that everyone hates doesn't work and is a complete miscast. The film doesn't begin to turn around until Hancock comes to the rescue of PR man Ray Embrey, played brilliantly by Jason Bateman. To repay Hancock for saving his life, Embrey decides he is going to help Hancock change his image and win the appreciation and respect of the public. Forget about the special effects -- the comedic interplay between Bateman and Smith is where the strength of the film lies. Jason Bateman displays his uncanny sense of straight-man comedic timing that he used so well on Arrested Development and the two characters form a friendship that really begins to feel true and believable.

However, the film goes astray once again when the character of Mary Embrey (Charlize Theron), Ray's wife, comes into focus. The writers and filmmakers lay down one of the most unexpected and unfulfilling plot twists I have ever seen in a film. Sadly, Theron's strengths as an actress are completely wasted in this film as she just seems to be meandering from one moment to the next. The writers fail to ever fully explore the burgeoning relationship between Mary, Hancock, and Ray that would allow for a pleasing resolution. This area of the film also detracts from what was supposed to be the focus -- Hancock's redemption of character. He basically goes from being an ass one second to the hero everyone loves the next -- no steps in between. To make matters worse, the film's climax finds Hancock squaring off against three of the lamest villains that have ever graced the screen in a superhero movie.

Hancock does deliver the goods with some high-energy action sequences and CG effects that will leave many gawking -- even if Will Smith flying around in a hoodie and shorts still looks sort of wonky. Certainly the film offers 90-minutes of down time to those who want to turn off their minds on the weekend, but this is one of Will Smith's weakest efforts to date. Maybe he'll redeem himself next summer with another blockbuster.

The Picture
 
Hancock has a hyper-saturated color palette that lends an air of Impressionism to the film's landscape. The brilliant blue color of the day skies as Hancock flies through the air pops, sunlight shimmers with an amber glow and flesh tones, though not displaying much signs of red push, are more tanned than normal. Black levels are deep and consistent with good shadow detail, but contrast is just slightly hot -- most likely due to artistic intention rather than the transfer itself.

Sony's AVC/MPEG-4 1080p/24 encoding of Hancock's 2.40:1 framing captures the film's visual style without any hindrance of compression artifacts and there is no evidence of detrimental post-processing effects such as edge enhancement. In fact, Hancock's transfer is completely film-like with a fine level of grain and great detail in foreground and background shots. From the stubble on Will Smith's face to the creases in his leather superhero suit, the transfer is finely textured.

The Sound

As is typical for Sony, they have provided a wide array of language options on this Hancock Blu--ray Disc release.  This disc's original language track is provided in an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless mix. Additionally, there is a French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless dubbed version plus Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 options and an extensive array of subtitle tracks.

The English TrueHD mix is superbly done with a wide dynamic range, extended low frequencies and aggressive directionality in the front and surround speakers. Dialogue is never lost and sound completely natural while the abundance of sound effects are EQ'd in a manner that does not cause listener fatigue. The LFE channel is used very effectively for a solid sound in both the upper low and low frequencies that really comes into play during the fight scene between Hancock and Mary.

The Extras

Sony has gone the extra mile with this release by not only making it a full BD-Live compatible title with BonusView picture-in-picture supplemental extras to boot, but they have also offered up all the rest of the video extras in high definition.

The extras available on this release are:

• On Set Visual Diary Picture-in-Picture -- This is a BonusView (Profile 1.1) feature that offers behind the scenes looks at the filming of scenes with on-the-set commentary from the director, the actors and other members of the filmmaking crew. Fortunately, the picture-in-picture screen does not take up too much screen real estate, as most of these features typically do.
• Superhumans: The Making of Hancock (1.78:1/high definition) -- This is just a brief featurette populated with interview segments with the producers, the director and the actors. The evolution of the idea for the film is discussed and additionally viewers can see some brief behind-the-scenes glimpses of the film's production.
• Seeing the Future (1.78:1/high definition) -- A series of featurettes showing the film's crew working on the pre-visualization animatics of the film's key action sequences:
  • Pre-Visualization
  • Bank Robbery Scene
  • The SUV Chase
  • Hancock Meets Ray
  • Hancock in Jail
  • Mary Vs. Hancock
  • Liquor Store Shoot Out
  • Hospital Fight
• Building a Better Hero (1.78:1/high definition) -- The visual effects crew discusses working on making Hancock fly.
• Bumps and Bruises (1.78:1/high definition) -- The stunt coordinators are shown coordinating the film's practical stunts and special effects.
• Home Life (1.78:1/high definition) -- This featurette focuses on the building of the set for the Embrey's house in the film and the design elements for the interior of the house.
• Suiting Up (1.78:1/high definition) -- This is all about Hancock's leather superhero outfit as well as dressing the other characters.
• D-Box Motion Code -- This disc is enabled with D-Box Motion Code for those viewers who have D-Box controllers in their home theatres.
• BD-Live -- This disc is BD-Live enabled, but the BD-Live features on offer here do not add much extra value pertaining to the film itself. The BD-Live features are just previews and trailers for other Sony movies and upcoming Blu-ray Disc releases.
• Digital Copy -- This release comes with a bonus DVD that contains a digital copy of the film, which can be transferred to a PC/Notebook, PSP, or Playstation 3. Note that this digital copy is not Mac compatible.
• Previews (high definition):
  • The House Bunny
  • Lakeview Terrace
  • Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
  • Men in Black
  • Hitch

Final Thoughts

Will Smith has become the king of summer blockbuster movies. Not many of these films offer much in the way of substance, but what they do usually offer is great special effects with a little humor thrown in and 90-minutes of thrills. Hancock falls short of all that on so many different levels, but it may still make a halfway decent weekend popcorn movie as a rental, especially in this new, brilliantly rendered Blu-ray Disc edition.

Where to Buy

• Hancock Unrated Special Edition on Blu-ray Disc (Amazon.com)

Product Details

• Actors: Will Smith,  Jason Bateman, Charlize Theron
• Directors: Peter Berg
• Language: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Spanish, Portuguese, & Thai Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Indonesian/Bahasa Indonesia, Korean
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: Not Rated
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: November 25, 2008
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• List Price: $39.95
• Extras:
  • Theatrical and Unrated Versions of the Film
  • 7 Featurettes:
    • Suiting Up
    • Home Life
    • Superhumans: The Making of Hancock
    • Seeing the Future
    • Building a Better Hero
    • Bumps and Bruises
    • Mere Mortals: Behind the Scenes with Dirty Pete
  • Digital Copy of the Theatrical version of the film
  • Blu-ray Exclusive:
    • On-Set Visual Diary Bonus View Picture-in-Picture Track
  • BD-Live