There are heroes... there are superheroes... and then there's Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility -- everyone knows that -- everyone, that is, but Hancock. Disgruntled, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock's well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough -- as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn't a man who cares what people think -- until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), and the unpopular superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all.

Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Eddie Marsan

Beer.com at the Movies - July 4

I'm not going to deny that we're inundated with superhero movies right now - it's blockbuster season and superheroes bring in the big bucks. Successes like Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman Begins give studios reason to keep making them.

And thankfully Hancock isn't a typical superhero flick. It doesn't get bogged down with existing characters or origin stories, but instead looks at the life of a superhero - especially when people don't appreciate your efforts to save their city.

Will Smith plays the enigmatic asshole Hancock - and it's great to see the normally wholesome Smith play a douche bag for once. He swears, destroys property, and shoves a dude's head up another dude's ass. Yes, that's right - that actually happens.

The story is about a superhero who saves the city but is severely under appreciated and therefore decides not to give the city of L.A. his full efforts... which usually means things get destroyed in the process of saving the day. Eventually, after a particularly destructive chase, the city puts out a warrant for the superman-esque character's arrest. Hancock shrugs it off until he saves the life of a very ambitious Public Relations specialist Ray (played by the great Jason Bateman) who decides to help Hancock regain the favor of the city's citizens.

What follows is a great story about the exploration of a normal (or as normal as it gets) guy with superpowers and the exploration of what happens mentally, physically, and socially when you're charged with saving peoples' lives. Will Smith plays a great asshole during the first half of the film - but unfortunately that whole attitude is lost as the halfway mark. The film ends up turning into a regular superhero flick - which is decidedly disappointing.

It's not to say that the flick is disappointing - anything but. It's no wonder Hancock topped the box office this weekend. Be prepared to laugh, be amazed at some of the surprises, and wowed by the feats of super-strength from Hancock.

While I'd have done a few things differently from a directorial standpoint (how many times can we look at someone over another's shoulder??) the flick is solid. I like the juxtaposition of the characters' mentalities - Bateman being the regular guy that wants to change the world, and Smith as the guy with the power to change the world and no reason to.

A solid flick, but not a masterpiece by any means. It's worth a laugh, and is much funnier than The Love Guru. My verdict?

SEE IT.