Damn, if he hasn't done it again. Will Smith put his star power behind Hancock, helping the movie gross a humungus $107 million to become the third-biggest Fourth of July opener of all time after Transformers and Spider-Man 2. That's Big Willy for ya. He's the first actor in Hollywood history to have eight consecutive movies top the $100 million mark. (Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise suffered breaks in their winning streaks.) Hancock is also the most successful of Mr. Smith's five July Fourth movies—1996's Independence Day, 1997's Men in Black, 2002's Men in Black 2, and 1999's godawful Wild Wild West. Speaking of godawful, most reviewers saw Hancock that way. Except for David Denby in The New Yorker, Manohla Dargis in The New York Times, Roger Ebert and yours truly, reviewers coldcocked Hancock. Why, you ask?
The major objection seems to be the effort of the movie to go deeper than most superhero junk. Look, I didn't buy the plot shift during the last third of Hancock, but I admired director Peter Berg and the actors for trying something different. To judge by most of the reviews, you play by the formula and win or die trying to mess with it. Audiences voted for taking the leap into the wild blue with Smith and his gifted costars, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron. Go ahead, tell me differently, but my guess is that those of you who forked over the bucks to see Hancock on the holiday weekend did it because of Smith, who is that rare combo— an actor and a star. I'd enjoy hearing your reactions to the movie. I'd also like to hear what you think are the top three Will Smith performances. For the sake of argument, let's leave out his Oscar-nominated dramatic performances in Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, also his un-nominated by deserving work in Six Degrees of Separation. We're talking here about the three other best representations of Will Smith Superstar besides Hancock. Here are mine:
Men in Black (1997)
Sure, Big Willy was dynamic in 1996's Indy 4, but the first Men in Black proved he had megastar force, and so much of it that he damn near stole the movie from his hardass costar Tommy Lee Jones, both playing agents chasing aliens. Flipping on his Ray-Bans, Agent Smith cracks wise to Agent Jones: "You know the difference between you and me? I make this look good.” That he did, and then some. The sight of Smith getting wrapped up in a baby alien's giant tail and tossed around like a wet rag in spin dry still makes me laugh out loud.
Enemy of the State (1998)
As a D.C. attorney having mind and body systematically destroyed by a crazed NSA honcho, Smith brings dramatic chops to a role that could slide by on the thriller fireworks detonated by producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott. Instead, Smith finds the heart of the character and carries the movie without the help of aliens or Big Willie jokes.
I Am Legend (2007)
It is totally cool to see Manhattan devoid of people as Smith and his dog roam the ruins after a virus wipes out the population. OK, the last third of the movie goes to shit, just like it does in Hancock. But Smith is so good you follow him anywhere. That's a star.
Bonus Question: What is Will Smith's worst movie ever?
My Answer: The Legend of Bagger Vance for drowning Smith in metaphysical pap.
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Anonymous | November 15, 2008 12:32 AM
don't let the people who said your moveies were the worst were the best please e-mail me mr.will smith please e-mail at joyagwuna@ymail.com
joy a. | November 15, 2008 12:27 AM
Anonymous is mean all the movies he said were bad were the best mr.will smith
joy a. | November 15, 2008 12:22 AM
you look so lovely i wish i coud meet you i'm 8 years old please come to america
luis uersti | September 23, 2008 3:26 PM
awsome awsome
Anonymous | July 10, 2008 12:12 PM
best: /
worst: hancock, men in black, independence day, men in black 2, wild wild west,
Matthew | July 9, 2008 4:11 PM
Best:
I, Robot
ID4
I am Legend
Worst:
Wild Wild West
? | July 9, 2008 9:32 AM
The thing about Hancock that I found the most frustrating was that at the end she seems to choose to just be a "normal" person. Apparently with great power does not come great responsibility to her.
But overall I enjoyed the movie; it was entertaining. I'd probably even see it again if movies weren't so expensive in NYC.
As for his best, most charming performances, I'd have to go with:
Independence Day
I am Legend
Men in Black
Worst: Wild Wild West
Monwel | July 9, 2008 3:23 AM
I really enjoyed watching Hancock. I agree that the movie moved really really fast, and glossed over a lot of where Hancock came from but I liked the twist, it was pretty radical but it worked, I was pleased that I spent 7,000 won (Korean Currency) to catch the flick.
My favorite Will Smith movies are I am Legend, it was enjoyable to watch but the ending felt rushed to me. I, Robot is also great. I when Smith plays a more serious role, although I do love The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Last but not least is ID4.
My least favorite Smith movie, Bad Boys 2, not because of Smith but because that movie is just crappy all day.
Bon | July 8, 2008 10:00 PM
johnny_boy, you have to be careful when comparing star-ratings. Expectations play into what a critic will give them movie star-wise. People expect the Dark Knight to be amazing, three and a half stars means it is amazing, but its not a master-piece. And against all the bad reviews of Hancock, the three stars set it apart, saying to other critics "its got its qualities" which it does. I'm sure Peter wasn't saying that The Dark Knight is only half a star better than Hancock, he was judging it based on merit and promise.
Kamau | July 8, 2008 12:20 PM
When I first read the reviews after I saw the movie, I couldn't believe what I was reading.
I didn't necessarily expect them to fall over themselves in praise, but I didn't expect them to trash the film.
Hancock is by far the most refreshing addition to superhero film genre. The film managed to maintain a level of ambiguity that many superhero fans dislike (they prefer to understand every aspect of the hero aesthetic).
The superhero genre has become as predictable a job process. Audiences expect applications (hero literature), pre phone interview (character treatments; fans especially love the line "this will be a darker, grittier film") and the face to face interview (2 hours where every aspect of the characters history laid out for you to enjoy).
Hancock went straight for the face to face and the critics looked down their noses. Thanks Pete for being one of the few unpretentious critics in town. Keep calling them as you see them.
Got It | July 8, 2008 10:09 AM
I dug the twist, you have to look at it through the lens of the short Theron explanation of how they were the part of the crew that inspired the greek god myhtology, angels, etc. I think most people didn't fully grasp it because the gears changed quickly. Busy thinking about why, they missed the explanation of why.
Theron was great in it, but no one seems to be mentioning that.
Chris | July 8, 2008 7:40 AM
Haven't seen Hancock, can't wait, regret reading to the bottom of the page as I now have a fairly good idea of the twist...d'oh.
As for the best of Big Willie. Yeah of course, I Am Legend just for the way he packs it all in when his dog goes nuts. And the Shrek homage.
I liked I, Robot although every other actor in the film was more robotic than the actual robot.. but for actual Smith it was cool.
And Men In Black because Smith and Jones are a great double act.
Begs the question why he could make misogynistic crap like Bad Boys I and II, plotless drivel like Wild Wild West and possibly the worst 'big name' animated film ever in Shark Tale.
johnny_boy | July 8, 2008 5:22 AM
Mr. Travers,
I actually haven`t seen Hancock, but is The Dark knight, with it`s universal praise, only slightly better than this...?
tw | July 7, 2008 10:27 PM
i didn't like the twiswt. Will Smith is great, but i was dissapointed with the movie.
ms | July 7, 2008 8:21 PM
i am legend
the fact that he was alone for the first two thirds of it and he pulled it off is amazing. not many star/actors can pull that off as well as he did. also the seen with when he killed his dog is convincing enough for his number 1 movie.
MiB
funny shit when i saw it. smith is great in the movie and works great with tommy lee jones.
Independence Day
one of only emerich movies i liked. smith was great in his role and didn seem too akward in it.
worst
between bad boys 2, wild wild west, and hitch
Bo | July 7, 2008 6:39 PM
The same with me: ID4, MIB and Legend. But left the same impact with I, Robot with me, however I didn't like the movie itself that much.
I would also like to point out remembering his music (videos) for MIB and WWW.
saad | July 7, 2008 5:30 PM
will smiths 3 best big star movies where he really shines i think are men in black, independence day and i am legend.
his worst, by a mile, hell two miles, is wild wild west. total shit.
Juan Carlo | July 7, 2008 4:37 PM
Actually, I'd go with HITCH as his third best, because I think that this is the Will Smith we expect to see: all funny and charming. Second goes to any of the MEN IN BLACK. And first goes to I AM LEGEND; this is a guy that you know that, despite his preparations, is scared s**tless and knows he can faiul in any moment.
And I sorta liked HANCOCK, but like you say, it all gets flushed down in the end. This was my WTF movie of the month.
Bon | July 7, 2008 3:30 PM
Also, Peter Berg's signature "shaky camera" technique didn't seem to fit here (it was wonderful in the down-to-earth Friday Night Lights and the gritty Kingdom). There was very little that was down-to-earth or gritty about this movie, so it distracted me.
Bon | July 7, 2008 3:28 PM
I agreed with your review before having read it. I saw the movie early and I was fairly excited, because Peter Berg is great, and the trailers lead me to believe that it was a twist on the tale of the superhero, where there wasn't really a bad guy, just a struggle with the realistic challenges of being a superhero in the real world, not the pulp fiction world of gotham and such. then came the twist, and it devolved into just another superhero movie with more CGI than acting (which is a shame with a hottie like Theron and a star like Smith) and I cared less about the outcome of the movie. But i agree, the first two thirds were fun.
The Second Perspective | July 7, 2008 3:09 PM
After seeing Hancock, those that I were with detested the Charlize Theron plot twist, saying it made no sense. Now I won't argue that it could have been done better, but you have to admire the movie for what it attempted to do, and for the most part, succeeded in. As far as superhero movies go, it is by far one of the more human ones. Instead of focusing on one bloated evil-doer, it's just one man, Smith, doing his job. Well... sort of. Hancock saw fit to focus more on human feelings and eschewed the normal, way overused, plot of good vs. bad. Let's hope for improvements, in the sequel, to a fairly well-done movie.
I Am Legend is a personal favorite as its nice to see Smith act serious for a change, at least before Hancock. MiB is classic. Of course, Independence Day.
Worst Smith vehicle: Hitch. What a terribly un-funny movie.
www.anotherperusal.blogspot.com
Shall | July 7, 2008 2:39 PM
I thought the movie was good until the twist. That should have been saved for the sequel. The movie moved too fast because it didn't give us a chance to understand where Hancock came from before the twist. Wild, Wild West is the worst especially with it banking on his previous draw.