Hancock
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: July 2, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
16
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Hollywood ReporterStephen Farber
The visual effects are stellar, but the true star is Smith, who again demonstrates acting chops as well as effortless charisma in a vehicle that's only occasionally worthy of his superhuman skills. Read full review
60
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Hancock is just intriguing enough that I kept wishing it were better. But Berg doesn't have the subtle touch that this material needs. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Doesn't seem to quite know what it is or where it's headed. So it goes anywhere it can while treading thematic water. Read full review
60
EmpireKim Newman
See-saws between straight superhero movie and parody, with layers of soap-opera fudge in between. A lot of solid scenes - but Hancock lacks the power of super-coherence. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Hancock can revel in schmuckery, of course, because you and I and cute kids and peaceful oldies worldwide know in advance that there's no way on Hollywood's green earth Will Smith will ever play someone seriously, dangerously unsavory. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Once the vulgar comedy dissipates, we're left with poorly photographed, bullet-riddled summer-action mayhem. The only thing drunker than Hancock is the editing and camerawork. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Might have been more appropriately titled "Hodgepodge." What starts out with a sense of quirky fun loses direction and devolves into a mishmash of story lines. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Corliss
It's strenuous, smartly-made and ordinary to an extraordinary degree. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
More intelligent than most summer blockbusters and features at its center a thought-out and committed performance by Will Smith. But in the end it's merely ALMOST good. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The result is an inconsistent, incoherent anti-superhero action-adventure comedy. Read full review
50
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Starts off promisingly, but gets bogged down when it abandons humor for gravity. Read full review
42
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
What begins as a pretty good comedy devolves rapidly into a high-flown example of Hollywood messagemongering. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
It's a strange feeling to see the summer's most promising premise self-destruct into something bizarre and unsatisfying, but that is the Hancock experience. Read full review
40
Village VoiceRobert Wilonsky
It doesn't take itself as seriously as it should, and undercuts a final act that should have and so could have packed a mighty emotional wallop. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
There's a great idea here, but it's buried within a muddled story that lurches between dark comedy and maudlin drama. Read full review
40
SlateDana Stevens
The climax, a multipart showdown in the corridors of a hospital, is unforgivably manipulative. What self-respecting director still cuts away to shots of a heartbeat monitor flat-lining? Hancock isn't the only underachiever on the premises--the talented Berg settles for far less than he should. Read full review
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