Hancock opens this Wednesday, probably aiming to clean up on the 4th of July holiday.

Trailer Check:

The reviews so far are so-so, but I wanna hold out hope since it stars Will Smith & Jason Bateman. Will Smith has been on my good side ever since seeing I Am Legend, there’s no way I can turn a cold shoulder to him now.

The director, Peter Berg, did do a nice job on The Kingdom (also starring Bateman), but maybe the superhero comedy is simply a hard nut to crack? I can think of a few superhero comedies that sort of fell flat with the audience. There’s bad pacing (My Super Ex-Girlfriend) or the tone of the movie is too hard to follow (Spiderman 3).

Best of luck to Hancock, maybe Smith’s charisma can prove to be a profitable summer movie experience.

Francis Lawrence did a decent job with his first movie Constantine. I actually happen to like that movie despite Keanu’s cheesy dialogue. Thus, I gave I Am Legend a chance to sway me regardless of the lukewarm reviews.

I knew the movie was going to be pretty bleak, but Will Smith talking to mannequins for comfort was really sad. He seriously loses everything and works alone to find a cure day in and day out. I think the ending was a bit heavy handed with the messiah metaphor though.

Nevertheless, it was beautifully shot. I really believed that Robert Neville was the last man on earth. The production design of the overgrown city was so detailed with lions and deer bounding through the frame. The dark seekers coulda looked more realistic with less cgi and more make up in my opinion. Instead they seemed to be completely computer generated. Still, they were scary enough. I’d give this version a grade B.

Bonus: Discussion on /Film about IAL alternate ending, which I haven’t seen yet. Sadly, the alt ending was pulled from YouTube, but is included on the two disc dvd.