The Hindu : Karnataka News : The Hindi version is delightful

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Karnataka

The Hindi version is delightful

SAVING PEOPLE: Will Smith in Hancock

Hancock (English)

Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron

Director: Peter Berg

Big W comes to the Big B territory. And delivers a film that is so unusually Bollywood-like that it could as well have been made for a certain Hrithik Roshan by someone called Rakesh Roshan! Here, the Hollywood superhero can fling and fly, travel across the universe at supersonic speed, palm off bullets, break through walls, and lift cars with his finger nails!

Come on, it could as well have been a Rajnikanth film the connoisseurs are so fond of running down. But not many will dare to do that; part of the reason is it is a Will Smith film. That brings with it a certain dignity, a certain self-contained expression not easy to ridicule. And part of the reason is the hero himself; he is so cool that he makes incredible not only possible but also plausible.

Hey, this is a Will Smith film, the guy who has recently shown hitherto unsuspected interest in India! We even have a Sardarji in a walk-on part in this film! So the movie comes riding on lots of hype, and initial craze. A few minutes inside the auditorium, and everything seems worth it. Will’s Hancock is not exactly a goofball, though he is often just a sentence away from the next gab.

All along, he maintains a serious, almost deadpan expression that only makes the viewers’ smiles linger. And a little into the second half, we get to see the human side of the indestructible crime buster, a man who has lived on this earth for almost eternity, but refuses to age. He is 80 — time stood still then — looks less than 40. He has seen tragedies down the centuries, and come out unscathed.

What’s the story of director Peter Berg’s film? Well, does it need one? For academic purposes our hero is strong, powerful, and flings himself into crises situations with monotonous regularity. He saves people in distress.

His Super-man-style leaps though are not without consequences and collateral damage: he is, as Jason Bateman delightfully explains it, like an angel to some, and a criminal for the policemen. He gets into the swing of things by saving the car of PR man Ray — played with ease by Bateman — stuck on a railway crossing in the nick of time in front of a speeding train. The grateful guy, on his part, decides to give him a make-over. He is no longer to be an odd ball, a guy who does good and comes across as bad.

And takes him home to the consternation of his wife — played with surprising relish by Charlize Theron. That is where the catch lies. Are we to see a superhero finally finding his match? Or is there a twist in the tale? Is he one of a kind, a man for whom the clock stopped ticking? A guy whose breed is facing extinction? Or just a normal man with supernormal powers?

Will save that for those who shell out money from their pocket to watch the film. Suffice to say, despite its generosity with cuss words, it is not a bad bargain. Yes, the Hindi version is even more delightful with the constant insertions of one-liners, set to appeal to the masses. All across, there is taut editing, good pace, focussed narration. And, of course, Will Smith makes it worth your while.

ZIYA US SALAM

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