There’s no questioning the fact that Hancock was a massive success at the box office, with the original superhero blockbuster earning a lucrative $630 million at the box office – due in part to the novelty of seeing the world’s biggest movie star headline a big budget epic set in the industry’s hottest genre – but it was still a massive missed opportunity.
Originally developed two decades previously as a dark and subversive takedown of the comic book adaptation’s signature tropes and trappings, director Peter Berg’s $150 million adventure was barely recognizable from spec script Tonight, He Comes outside of its main throughline focusing a washed-up, hard-drinking, and people-hating demigod walking a path towards redemption.
Of course, when you’ve got Smith taking top billing – as well as a payday of $20 million upfront and 20 percent of the gross to consider – Hancock was always going to have its hardest edges sanded down. What makes it all the more infuriating, though, is that the first act was more than enough to create the impression that we were witnessing an entirely unique superpowered story.
Sadly, things ultimately devolve into routine after that, and it’s evident that nobody involved in the production or creative side of things was willing to take the same sort of risks that defined the opening third all the way to the finish line. It’s fine for what it is, but could have been so much more, even if FlixPatrol naming it as one of the most-watched films on Rakuten indicates that at-home viewers are still happy to give Hancock another whirl, regardless of his frustrating shortcomings.