robwoolford.com

Just applied for a job out in Dubai. A job that I could do, and one that I’m qualified to do too!

Will I get it? Probably not.

But it’s nice to day dream.

Definitely the best thing I’ve applied for since BBC 1Xtra turned a blind eye to my app.

Would be a damn sight better than bar work in Sunderland anywho… although some say that Sunderland is the Dubai of North East Engl… ah fuck it… no they don’t. Sunderland is a dump.

I went and saw Hancock last night, and I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.

I don’t suppose it helps that EVERY single person that has seen it before me said it was ‘mint’ or ‘awesome’.

Whilst the film was more intelligent than most summer blockbusters, and I can have no complaints about the performances from Will Smith or Charlize Theron - it seemed to start off funny and promisingly, but then tail off into a humourless, superhero rom-com which seemed completely out of place with the start of the film.

The concept of this film is brilliant. It’s one I’ve been looking forward to since the back end of last year. Finally, I thought, a superhero film which won’t take itself too seriously. One which has the premise of a quirky ’superhero’ who is drunk, gets everything wrong and is an ‘asshole’ (everybody elses words). But it evolves into a muddled storyline that stops being funny quite quickly.

The first hour or so of the film revolves around establishing Hancock as a drunk super hero who, when he’s not passed out, will do his best to foil crimes. But, as a series of clips show, the unconvential figure gets it wrong every time causing millions of dollars worth of damage in the process. Then he gets into tantrums, breaks stuff and swears at kids. And that’s all pretty funny.

Then, without warning, the movie takes a distinct change in tone and direction. An unexpected twist, which I won’t come to mention as a lot of people won’t have had the time to catch this film yet, sees the film abandon humor in the pursuit of a story. Who is John Hancock? Where did he come from? How did he get here? How long has he been here? Has he, or will he, ever find love? - just some of the questions you should expect to find in the second half of the film.

Without offering any real answers, or answers in any kind of amusing form, the film becomes quite a souring experience. The character’s origin is all well and good, but I’m not sure I’m alone in assuming that whilst knowing a super hero inside out is a convention of the genre - the majority of people coming to see this blockbuster are not coming to see a super hero film, most are hoping to see a comedy.

I can’t help but wonder why Sony and its director, Peter Berg, chose to pursue the backstory when, in actual fact, I’m not sure people really cared for it. What draws Hancock away from Batman and Superman is that he is a seemingly human individual who makes mistakes, a superhero who always seems to have a bad day, and I don’t think we need 45 minutes of character development to be able to relate to that.

While I don’t want to be too harsh because I did kind of enjoy this film - it’s not like I hated it - I just think it falls so spectacularly short of the mark. So while everyone is telling you that Hancock is “the film to go and see this summer!” try to take that comment with a pinch of salt - the film is not the same as the trailer.