Hancock

Take a fellow who has dominated every entertainment genre he has tried: movies, television, music; next cast a gorgeous Academy Award winner; then add a charismatic television stalwart; combine the three of them into an action-filled cartoon premise and what do you get? Yup! You have another July winner for Will Smith. This latest outing for our depend- able Mr. Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness," "Ali" and "I am Legend") may not enjoy the blockbuster success he had with "Men in Black" and "Independence Day," but this is a crowd pleaser, just the same.

Smith is the eponymous "Hancock," a gone-to-seed, alcoholic superhero who inflicts so much damage when he does his heroic deeds, the police hesitate to call him. He can fly, is impervious to bullets, missiles, fire and explosions; but when he stops a train, it is derailed and destroyed. When he rescues a beached whale, he tosses it back into the ocean, he hits a yacht and sinks it. When he stops a car chase where the troopers are trying to capture a lethal joyriding gang, he smashes freeway signs and causes multiple traffic crashes. He has a bad, bad attitude; as a result, the public thoroughly dislikes him. When he is criticized, he lips off at his detractors then retreats to his remote desert shack to sulk.

Jason Bateman ("Juno," "Arrested Development" and "The King- dom") is a sunny would-be do-gooder, who tries to inspire corporate giving to "make the world a better place." His character is so open- hearted, loving and supportive, you want everything to go his way. He realizes his project isn't going very well, and after Hancock stops a train that is bearing down on him, they go to Bateman's house for dinner to discuss his concept of changing our superhero's lousy public image.

Bateman's wife, played by the awesome Charlize Theron ("Battle of Seattle," "The Italian Job" - 2003, and an Academy Award for "Monster") is clearly nonplussed when she first sees Hancock. We don't know why (neither does he), and therein lies the tale...or at least one of them. The "reveal" was done sotto voce so I could only glean the general idea of that secondary plot.

There is cartoon violence and a certain amount of PG-13 blood, but in my opinion, it isn't overly graphic. In one instance, Hancock slices off the hand of a bomb-wielding villain, but the audience cheered. No trauma there! Hancock's time served in prison is a nice mix of cartoon violence and character building.

This movie promotes esoteric things like washing up, shaving, and being polite. We all laughed as Bateman coached Smith on how to say, "Good job!" And it was painful to see Smith's scruffy character squirm as he was forced to read a public apology for his previous behavior.

All three of these actors have a reputation for accountability, each has had his or her share of heartaches but each seems to be out of the woods and is out there doing the job. I like all three of them, so I liked their movie!