by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief

In world where danger is all around us there is only one man brave enough (or drunk enough) to save us…HANCOCK! Will Smith’s superhero adventure Hancock is now available on DVD and Blu-ray! Hancock is the story of a man trying to find his place in a world that has total disregard for him. He wants to help, but he is a big screw-up…(with powers equivalent to Superman).

Story
Like Superman, John Hancock is the last of his kind. He doesn’t quite fit in with the people of Earth. But unlike Krypton’s last son, he isn’t completely altruistic and flawless. Every time he tries to help he ends up making situations worse. Although he has good intentions his blatant disregard for social norms and common sense has caused many difficult situations for the people of Los Angeles. After saving the life of public relations executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman – Arrested Development). Ray takes it as a new personal goal to help Hancock fix his image. Together the pair set out to fix Hancock’s reputation and make him into a real superhero that the city needs and respects.

To thank John for saving his life, Ray invites him for a home-cooked meal and introduces John to his son and his wife Mary (Charlize Theron – Æon Flux) who adamantly opposes Ray working with Hancock and believes Ray will get let down as a result of Hancock’s actions. To her surprise, Hancock actually starts making an effort and agrees to serve time for the damages that he has caused in the city. After a few weeks of being locked up, the city calls upon John for help and he is able to answer. Now armed with a new outlook on life and a snazzy new costume, Hancock tries to show the city that he really is a hero that they can admire.

Along the way, Hancock makes the startling revelation that maybe there is someone else like him after all…and that someone doesn’t want to be exposed. Who is this mystery person? Well, you will have to see the movie to find out!

Special Features
-Unrated Version with footage not shown in theaters

-Super-Humans: The Making of Hancock Featurette

-Seeing the Future- An In-depth look at the scenes of Hancock using pre-visualization, film and behind the scenes footage

-Building a Better Hero- Special Effects Featurette

-Bumps and Bruises- Stunts Featurette

-Mere Mortals- Behind the Scenes Featurette

-(Blu-ray only) On-Set Visual Diary Bonus View Picture-in-Picture track.

-(Blu-ray only) BD-Live content

Version Comparison:
Hancock is available in a rated theatrical DVD version, single-disc unrated DVD, two-disc unrated DVD version, and as per normal these days, the Blu-ray version is the best of all worlds and then some. Not only will you get all the versions of the feature film and all the additional resolution and better sound that Blu-ray affords, but you also get more special features. This holiday season, you may want to make the switch to Blu-ray and Hancock is an excellent Blu-ray to start out with, as it’s got all the explosions, flying sequences featuring scenic vistas, and other eye candy you might want to introduce your home to high def entertainment.

Overall
Hancock is not your traditional superhero movie in any way, shape, or form. We don’t get a massive origin story. We don’t have a super powered bad guy out for world domination. We have a guy with powers just taking on normal guys with guns.

When Hancock was released in theaters, it was often critically panned for its two-stories-in-one-movie feel. It’s true that the movie’s plot changes suddenly and becomes another story altogether, and it does have something of a two separate episodes feel, but I really don’t think it’s any reason to enjoy this story any less. In fact, it feels to me like this was two noncontiguous episodes of the awesomest super hero TV show that never was. It seems like this movie starts out in the premiere episode of the second or third season, contains a few scenes pertaining to the overarching plot from some other episodes, and then finishes with the season finale. Will this best super hero show that never was get picked up for its next season? Don’t send peanuts or rice-a-roni, buy Hancock on Blu-ray or DVD if you want to see a sequel as much as we do at ComicsOnline.

Will Smith excels as the anti-hero Hancock and really makes the movie enjoyable. The best performance in the film hands down is by Jason Bateman who really steals every scene. He is just a normal guy trying to exact change and awareness on a global level…which are some admirable character traits. Theron as always does a stellar job as the resident hottie in the film, but she brings more to this film than just a pretty face and a tough attitude.

Oh and make sure to watch during the credits for a great scene with another superhero reference!

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Hancock 4 1/2 out of 5 anti-heroes redeemed.