Despite the ho-hum critical response Hancock has received up to this point, I can tell you with great certainty that the film is everything it was built up to be. It is, on all fronts, an engaging comedy-adventure with a clear purpose, a consistent narrative, and a solid cast that all combine to form a believable, real-world superhero story complete with real-world consequences and characters, flawed and multi-layered, that you're rooting for from the first frame.

Hancock himself (Smith) couldn't be more entertaining as the dubious superhero who will go out of his way to stop bad guys but couldn't care less about the collateral damage that takes place in the process. And the public's perception of his antics certainly doesn't help his attitude toward them, which is partially why he so readily takes to Ray and his family -- they obviously care about what happens to him. After all, a heartfelt thank-you goes a long way when you're surrounded by naysayers whose tail ends you've just saved.

By now you've heard about the "twist" that comes about halfway through the film, and it is as big a deal as it's made out to be; Hancock wouldn't have a second or third act without it. I won't reveal what it is except to say that it takes the audience in a very different direction than they expect. None of the trailers I ever saw gave any indication as to where the movie was actually going, only where it began. So given that we were shown a premise but never a plot, I'd say writers Vy Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan have done pretty well for themselves.

As always, Jason Bateman shines with his very even-keeled, well-spoken Ray Embrey, and I was pleased to see 10-year-old Daeg Faerch make a cameo appearance as well after his riveting turn as the young Michael Myers in 2007's remake of the horror classic Halloween. But make no mistake, this film is all about Will Smith. He is the beginning, middle, and end of Hancock, and given his performance in the movie, he certainly deserves the title.

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