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Will Smith crashes the July 4th party again, this time with a thud in the disappointing superhero comedy Hancock. 

July 4th will be hot again this year. The scraping and popping you hear won’t be of firecrackers but of the crash landing of Will Smith’s new disappointing movie Hancock. Smith had previously lit up the 4th with the Men in Black films and Independence Day, but not so here. Hancock is a dark, action-filled comedy about a lazy, burned out superhero in need of a makeover. It’s lazy, pointless and messy, riding single-handedly on some nifty visuals and Smith’s charm and a shoddy script that needs a makeover more than our tired superhero. Though I’m a big fan of Smith, Hancock is his worst film since Wild Wild West.

Smith is John Hancock, a lazy, burned-out and alcoholic superhero who’s gained a bad reputation in Los Angeles. He possesses super-human strength, flying abilities along with great speed and agility. However, his drinking problems, anger issues and bad attitude have all affected his job skills negatively, to say the least. He still comes in to save the day, but so sloppily and carelessly that he’s fallen out of favor with the people of L.A. One day he saves PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) from a train wreck, and Ray wants to give Hancock an image makeover to help him regain the trust of the people.

Hancock is also ageless and has been around for sometime but also has suffered from amnesia, preventing him from remembering much about his past. Ray begins to help rehabilitate Hancock, but after Hancock meets Ray’s wife Mary (Charlize Theron), he discovers they may be connected in ways that could both help and hurt them both. All in time to help save L.A. from resident evil bank robber Red (Eddie Marsan).

Hancock is one of this summer’s biggest misfires and a big letdown for Smith fans, coming in nowhere near the quality we’ve come to expect from him. The story itself is too unfocused, providing no backstory and going in too many directions, mostly the wrong way. In essence, Hancock is a great premise that’s badly executed. Smith’s likable persona, along with some solid visual effects makes it worth seeing.

Hancock’s story has been kicking around Hollywood now for about a decade, undergoing extensive revisions and many changes in directors and writers. It ended up with director Peter Berg, co-producer of the TV show Friday Night Lights and director of last fall’s The Kingdom, and writers Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan, the latter of whom co-scripted some X-Files episodes. Berg is a bland choice here, giving the film no real sense of purpose or connection with its audience.

Even worse is the script. Ngo and Gilligan’s revisionist superhero story has some nice dark elements; it starts out well in its initial chapters but falls apart under a couple of badly-handled twists in its mid-section (Hancock isn’t the only superhero in the movie) that makes Hancock go awry by the final, pointless act. Even worse is how unrevealing and shallow the film is, providing little back story or substance; we know very little of Hancock’s origins or superpowers, both integral to the film.

Through it all, Smith is still his ingratiating, alluring self throughout, carrying Hancock the movie on his shoulders. Without him, it would be far, far worse than it already is. See Smith throw a big fish back in the water. Stop a train. Effortlessly shoot baskets from afar. Or having him literally stick a guy’s head another another guy’s butt. (By far the best scene in the movie.) In another nice touch, whatever you do, do NOT call Hancock (named because he couldn’t remember his real name) an a--hole, as one young bully learns early on.

Supporting characters don’t help out the film much. Bateman and especially Theron contribute stale, unmemorable performances to an already thin script. Theron in particular is wasted, her character the least believable and the most contrived, which is very unfortunate for the talented, Oscar-winning actress.

Hancock is Rated PG-13 but is really too dark and too intense for that rating (it’s easy to see how it was cut back from an R rating). Designed to appeal to broader and younger audiences, those folks probably won’t pick up on many of the cynical vibes thrown their way by the movie. Other than Smith’s inviting presence and a few worthy visual effects and action scenes, Hancock is an unimpressive way to spend your Independence Day holiday, beginning the second half of 2008 with a thud.

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