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It is nice to be the contrarian once in a while. Standing up against the critical masses, sticking to your guns on why a film is a complete piece of shit when everyone is losing their head and heralding it as a masterpiece. Or speaking up for a film that has been dumped on by everyone and, not only is it not worthy of such scorn, it is actually so good it doesn't deserve anything other than wholesome praise. I find myself doing the latter in the case of the near-brilliant Hancock.

I keep reading how everyone hates this film, but for me, this not only almost certainly going to be the best movie of the summer, it may very well end up in my top 10 for the year. I'm not going to deny it has its problems, but the quality is otherwise so good that they don't detract from the picture that Berg and co have made.

I've mentioned Peter Berg before on this site. He last directed The Kingdom, a less ambitious but well-made picture, that died a death at the box-office. That didn't stop him getting the nod in a big-budget Will Smith July 4 picture, which suggests Berg is gaining some serious clout in Hollywood. Will Smith's July 4th films could probably be directed by you or I and still make money - he is after all the biggest box office draw in the world who hasn't had a box office dud since 2001's Ali (and even that went on to score him an Oscar nomination so can hardly be called a failure.) Clearly though the summer movie season is all about the big bucks and for Berg to helm this is a serious vote of confidence.

Smith plays the title role, who is a washed up superhero; an inarticulate, inconsiderate drunk who knows not who he is or where he came from. Far from being revered like the traditional superhero, Hancock is vilified by the citizens of Los Angeles due to the thoughtless destruction of property that accompanies every rescue or intervention he exercises. The city loses all patience with him after a latest destructive escapade and issue an arrest warrant. Despite the fact that he can fly off at any time, Hancock gives himself up and serves his sentence after taking advice from a PR consultant (Jason Bateman) whom he just happened to have rescued the day before. The PR guy's big idea is for LA to miss their superhero, ask for his help when they really need him, and for Hancock to show up after some elocution lessons, a makeover and an image branding exercise to save the day with a bit more care and politeness, thus winning over the very people that have cursed his name.

It's a great idea for a film and it is especially welcome to see a superhero film which dares not to tread the same well-worn path that pretty much every single comic book film has trampled down over the years. However the reviews have not been kind, so what have people got against it? Reading through a number of comments since I got back from seeing it, it seems people are down on the third act, complaining that the "big twist" came out of nowhere and not only that, but it caused the film to veer from light comedy to something more dramatic, which ultimately ruined the tone of the whole film. I have two issues with this. 1) Without knowing what it was going in, the "big twist" seemed to me to be very clearly signalled throughout. I don't think Peter Berg intended it as a big twist at all. And 2) The dramatic final act was pretty near-perfect in my eyes.

Here be spoilers

I really liked some of the choices towards the end, especially how Hancock and Mary's only weakness was each other. It seemed really fitting and the scene on the hospital bed when Mary recalled their past was completely convincing. You could feel their love - and yet Mary could only save Hancock by sacrificing herself and he could only save her by leaving her. The Shakespeare-esque pretentions are, improbably, completely successful, elevating a super-hero flick above and beyond the scope of anything this genre has seen before.

Spoilers end

All three stars are perfectly cast. I've loved Bateman ever since he did Arrested Development and whilst his range is limited, he is always very watchable and has perfect comic timing. Theron - who also appeared in AD - is also effective and looked very hot once she put on that black thing with the black eyeliner. Smith has been consistently delivering great performances for years. The all interacted brilliantly and, as mentioned in the spoiler, that scene on the hospital bed was brilliant and actually had me choked. John Powell's excellent score really hit its stride in the final third as well, and I've been listening to it since I got back from the cinema. Top quality stuff.

Sure there are some issues here and there. Some of the CGI is ropey - especially when Smith is flying at speed. There are implausibilities in the plot, but there's nothing so outrageously improbable that it would take you out of the picture, and I am the very first to complain about plot-holes, believe me. Whatever its faults, nothing even begins to explain the bizarre and pathetic 36% rating on rottentomatoes. I'm totally bewildered by it.

I would normally not hesitate to recommend a movie I was about to give a high B to but I'm completely outnumbered so I have to be honest and say you may very well not agree with me. However, I found this to be extremely enjoyable from start to finish. The comic touches at the start, the convincing drama at the end - it all worked. I am not a lone voice rallying against the critical tide, but I am a lonely one. I really do think this is a first rate summer film. In fact scratch that, this is simply a first rate film and if Will Smith's box office numbers hold up as well as usual, then it'll be one of those rare occasions when the public, and not the critics got it right.

MATT:

Hancock (Will Smith) is a beleaguered, down-on-his-luck, superhero, living in present day LA but unwanted by the American public, and generally unloved, because he seems to create more destruction than he prevents. Drunk and moody, Hancock drifts aimlessly through his days, mixing drinking with the odd bit of heroism, until he saves the life of Ray Embrey, who works in PR. As a thank you, Ray offers his services to help Hancock's public image and help him come to terms with his past and who he is today...

What an idea! It really is. Creative, inventive, brainy, deep, thought-provoking. This is not your average superhero movie premise. Superheros are meant to me pure, powerful, clean-cut and save lives (even if all of them have had difficult pasts). They don't drink, immersed in depression and self-loathing, and they don't fly around saving lives, and the planet, drunk. Not in the public face of Hollywood anyway. This is also why Watchmen, which offers yet another distinct and dark take on the superhero genre, promises so much.

The first 50 minutes of this are pure, cinematic, genius, brilliantly taking you into the mind of a struggling, interesting, living, breathing character, whilst somehow collapsing the boundaries between reality and screen. You actually believe that superheros could be living amongst us, with the kind of powers Smith's Hancock possesses, such is the gritty, pavement-centred, tone and look of the film and its lively, hard-cut, direction. The cinematography and camera work definitely help and add another layer of reality and everydayness to the proceedings. A great attention to detail pays off, combined with brilliant, but believable (most of the time), special effects. Credit must go to cinematographer Tobias Schliessler and production designer Neil Spisak, together with editors Colby Parker Jr and Paul Rubell, for the realistic look of the film. Filmmaker, crew and actor have combined, for the first time in cinematic history, to create a realistic superhero who lives and breathes with the rest of us. As I say, the first 50 minutes or so, which create and sustain this dramatic characterisation, are absolutely remarkable. A+ filmmaking for sure.

Now comes the but. I can feel the frustration creeping through my fingers as I write. The mood, and plot arc, suddenly shifts. People had told me that you could see a 'twist' coming, but that is an insult to the word 'twist', so blatant and obvious it is. Still, the fact that you can see a twist coming is not necessarily an awful thing in itself, the problem here is that it leads the film and, most importantly, its characters, wildly astray.

It's as if the filmmakers suddenly blinked and lost the cohones to abandon the superhero tableau completely. They had to have a superhero element to the story, as opposed to a purely human one. And the side story with the 'villains', who are introduced barely half way through with the thinnest of cinematic brushstrokes, is flatly awful, unnecessary and hackneyed.

Such a shame. I was wondering whether, after 50 or so minutes, I could get away with giving yet another A+ grade in the past 18 or so months. Sadly, the ending spared me the dilemma. This was such a brave, innovative, idea and the characters and performances are fully worthy of it, but it descends into the ordinary and it is not an ordinary done with any particular verve or panache, completely unlike the first half of the film. A great shame.

A quick word on the performances. I really liked Smith, who grows on me every time I see him and I have to admit that he has fully ditched the annoying tag he arrived from Bel Air with and is growing into a fine, mature, actor with great range and emotional compass. I would not rule out a top 5 finish for Smith come year end for this effort. Bateman is fine, but playing a little to type. Still, he is so eminently watchable that is not a major criticism. I suspect he will just carve out his own niche playing this type of character, and who are we to criticise him for that. He deserves every moment he gets in the limelight, though it does not look at the moment that he will ever light up an Oscar stage. Theron, of course, has and probably will again. She does nothing wrong here, but her character must be blamed for leading the film astray. That is no fault of Theron's, though you do get the impression that she well knew that this might be the case. Still, a fine effort all round by the three leads.

So, the final result. I can't not give this a recommendation grade because of the sheer brilliance and originality of the first half and, perhaps, there will be those who can look past the film's flaws better than I can. I really enjoyed this and, ironically, perhaps if the first half hadn't been so damn good, I wouldn't have ended up being so disappointed.