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Hancock: Unrated Special Edition
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (29th November 2008). |
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The Film
 "Hancock" has been a long time coming, originally conceived a decade ago, the script did the rounds of Hollywood trying to get picked up. With a sharp concept and well plotted character the script garnered interest from several studios and many high profile directors including Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow and Gabriele Muccino. Unfortunately the script lingered in development hell. Various complications would halt the script from entering production. Finally, director Peter Berg and Will Smith resurrected the property and "Hancock" made it to the big screen. originally titled "Tonight, He Comes" (Porn title anyone?) it was wisely changed during production to "John Hancock" and then eventually just to "Hancock" for release. The trailers did well to set the tone of the film and garner interest from comic fans and action movie fans alike. The idea of an alcoholic super hero that doesn't take responsibility for his actions is something that hasn't really been done before. Fans were expecting a dark film, something 'R' rated but instead the film was released as a 'PG-13' cut, which unfortunately had removed the darker elements of Hancock's behavior including a scene where he swears at the public and another were he takes home a girl from the bar and has sex with her... in his own super way. The 'theatrical' version dropped these moments which in all fairness should have remained in the cut as they provided crucial character development moments that lacked slightly from the version released to theaters. But that's what makes Home Video so wonderful, as fans have a chance to see that, this Blu-ray (as well as the DVD release) features the 'Unrated' version of the film. "Hancock" tells the story of John Hancock (Will Smith), as superhero whose lost his way, he's cranky, moody, has a bad attitude and drinks a lot. he's basically fallen out of favor by the general public as he tends to cause more damage than good when stopping criminals. He encounters Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) who works in PR and looks to give Hancock a public makeover to make him more appealing to the public and clean up his bad record. His wife, Mary (Charlize Theron) wishes he'd not get involved, but she has a secret that links her to Hancock. meanwhile Kenneth 'Red' Parker Jr. (Eddie Marsan), a criminal who Hancock put away has escaped with a plot to exact revenge on the superhero. What "Hancock" does well is that it really spins the concept of a superhero genre film on its head. Showing a different side of the coin, one in which should have been explored long ago. The film manages to sustain itself until the third act where it delves into the cliches that the filmmaker's try to avoid (or rather poke fun of in the first two thirds of the film). It just becomes another in a line of fallen-hero-seeks-redemption type stories. Furthermore [WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD], the reveal of Theron's ability is no surprise (and Sony even ruins this twist with the image of her on the cover of the DVD and Blu-ray releases!). I also found that the idea they both lose their powers the closer they get to each other was a bit lazy and uninspired but I have to give the writers some credit in not making their loss of power linked to some object or natural occurrence as we've seen in many comic books (read: Kryptonite, etc.) The film's action and humor is dark, and the 'Unrated' version adds to Hancock's character development which was somewhat lacking in the original cut. This film needed to be 'R' rated and not the 'PG-13' mass market film it was. I felt that Hancock was a much more rounded character in the longer version of the film and made for a much more pleasurable viewing experience. What also makes the film stand out is Will Smith, he's a carismastic and likable actor but here he plays the opposite and it works. He is excellent in the role and the interaction between him and Jason Bateman are often brilliant, funny and well scripted. Theron on the other hand was neither here-nor-there, she doesn't do much to entice, nor does she excite in this role. She was simply present... Overall it's a fun 'dark' movie that comic fans, genre fans and smith fans can attach to, especially if you're watching the 'Unrated' version, which I recommend over the 'Theatrical', however it's still not clear whether this longer cut is Berg's preferred version as Sony where careful not to label this a 'Director's Cut', a commentary could have cleared that up...
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.40:1 this transfer is in high-definition 1080p 24/fps and has been mastered using AVC MPEG-4 compression. The results are rather striking, with deep, bold and vibrant colors. The film's black levels are solid without a fault. There's an incredible amount of detail right down to subtle things. Skin tones appear natural and well defined. There's little grain and the image looks crisp and clear. There's some very minor softness at times (during FX sequences) buy nothing that would take points away from the overall image quality.
Audio
There are five audio tracks present on this disc, in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 both mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. As well as standard Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in Portuguese, Spanish and Thai. The soundtrack is booming, this is the type of film in which home theaters were made for. The mix is aggressive and active, with a wide range from the action packed right down to the subtle environmental surrounds that add to the depth of the audio track. Dialogue is clear and distortion free, the film's music makes great use of the surrounds and overall it's an impressive audio mix that totally immerses the viewer. The only thing better would be an uncompressed PCM track! Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Thai, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified) and Korean.
Extras
Sony has released this film as a 'Special Edition' 2-disc set with a collection of extras that include seven featurettes, a picture-in-picture commentary and some BD live features as well as a digital copy of the film. DISC ONE: First up is "Superhumans: Making Hancock" featurette which runs for 12 minutes 52 seconds, this is the typical EPK clip that features interviews with key personnel and some behind-the-scenes footage mixed with finished clips from the film. It's used to promote the film so everyone has something positive to say. Next up is "Seeing the Future" featurette which runs for 16 minutes, because the film featured a lot of special effects and action scenes, these had to be pre-planned. This clip looks at the pre-visualization process that filmmakers employ in order to achieve shooting complex scenes. For a short clip it's relatively in-depth and very interesting for movie fans to check out. "Building a Better Hero" featurette runs for 8 minutes 17 seconds and takes a closer look at all of the film's special effects and how they were created. This clip could have easily been longer. "Bumps and Bruises" featurette runs for 10 minutes 30 seconds, takes a look at the stunt work performed for the film, and covers the process and looks at how Smith himself took the initiative to perform some of the stunts himself in order to be as authentic to the character as possible. "Suiting Up" featurette runs for 8 minutes 30 seconds and takes a closer look at the costume design specifically the super suit in which Hancock wears. "Home Life" featurette runs for 10 minutes 50 seconds and focuses on the film's locations and also the production design. "Mere Mortals: Behind the Scenes with Dirty Pete" featurette is the final clip, and this runs for 4 minutes. The clip is about the film's director and how excited he was to direct this film as we see him try and transfer that excitement into the cast. There's also some Blu-ray exclusive extras. First of which is an "On-Set Video Diary" Picture-in-Picture commentary, this feature requires profile 1.1 or greater players. This extra goes unreviewed at this stage as this reviewer currently has a profile 1.0 player. But this feature will have video clips pop-up while the film plays about various aspects of the production. Finally there's some BD-Live content which allows viewers to connect online, this requires profile 2.0 players. DISC TWO: The only extra on this disc is a digital copy of the film.
Overall
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