Weekly Written Analysis 4

            With this week's discussion about heroes, I chose to review the movie Hancock. The superhero is played by Will Smith and he is not your typical superhero. The hero's name is John Hancock. He got his name due to the fact that one day he woke up in the hospital with no idea of who he was. Upon departing from the hospital, the nurse asked the superhero for his John Hancock. Thus, the superhero took the name as his own, as he didn't know what the phrase meant. Thus, the generic name of John Hancock (Internet Movie Database, 2011).

            Hancock is not your typical superhero. In fact, he is an alcoholic, Los Angeles based superhero with a poor reputation. In beginning of the movie, Hancock comes off as a terrible super hero with a poor sense of self. He also has little regard for the public and they have little respect for him. Nevertheless, as the movie progresses the viewers can begin to see the day to day struggles which Hancock experiences. He is all alone as the only one of his kind; or at least that is what he is lead to believe (Internet Movie Database, 2011).

            Eventually, Hancock saves a public relations executive named Ray from getting smashed in his car by a train. Ray then gets the bright idea to re-establish Hancock with a modified representation makeover. Ray tries to show Hancock how to be a better person and improve as a super hero. Thus, the movie depicts Hancock as a superhero who struggles with human faults, as he tries to improve as a person and superhero (Internet Movie Database, 2011).

            I have seen this movie many times. However, it wasn't until this module that I really got to understand this movie. I now have a better understanding of this movie and I have changed my opinion about this movie. On most review sites this movies doesn't get much more than an average rating. However, I like this movie as it depicts a superhero who has superhuman powers, yet struggles with the same day to day struggles experienced by humans. Hancock then learns how to be a better human by improving his overall demeanor and improving his level of respect for all things. Not only must he improve on his human characteristics/traits, but he must also learn how to be a better superhero via defeating bad guys, limiting damage, and saving the innocent (Internet Movie Database, 2011).

References

 Internet Movie Database. (2011). Hancock. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448157/