Genre Essay

Hancock

Hancock is a superhero action comedy film featuring Will Smith as the main character, John Hancock, who is the superhero. In this trailer there are elements of both comedy and action.

Will Smith starring in this film sort of allows the audience to already know what type of film they will be watching. Will Smith has been known for comedy since the beginning of his acting career in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and later on in films such as Bad Boys, which also was a huge action film. Smith has became renowned for these types of films.

The trailer then itself begins by moving through the sky, with the text, 'there are heroes, there are superheroes, and then there's Hancock.' The text obviously tells us this is going to be about superheroes, but the fact it is moving through sky also does as many superheroes have the ability to fly. It also makes us wonder what is so different about Hancock to other superheroes. We then find out when the shot shoots down to the Earth, where we view Hancock lying on a bench asleep. It is a high angled shot, which makes it look like we are looking down at Hancock. A child then makes him aware of a crime being committed, but Hancock does not seem to care and tells the child so. We then see him surrounded by bottles and attempting to grope a woman walking past. These shots are long shots, maybe telling the audience that people should keep their distance from Hancock. We also see that he is dressed more like a thug than a superhero. Superheroes tend to wear some sort of costume, whereas Hancock just wears a hat, some sunglasses, a jacket, shorts and trainers. He already looks nothing like a superhero, due to his appearance and his behaviour, questioning the audiences definitions of a superhero. We then see him launch himself into the sky, causing destruction from his launch point, which is sort of the opposite to what a superhero should do. This all relates to the very start of the trailer when it says 'there are superheroes, and then there's Hancock.'

Obviously superheroes need to have superpowers, and Hancock displays his in the trailer. He shows us he has the ability to take flight and he seems to be able to absorb contact from anything, even high speed trains. In fact, he damages the train, causes it to stop and forces all of it containers to tip over. He even throws a whale that was stuck on the beach back into the sea, showing us his strength and powers.

The trailer also rapidly flashes through other scenes, where we see explosions, a girl and a masked man. You cannot really have an action film without explosions. That has become a key feature of action films. Most superheroes also have a love interest. Spider-Man had Gwen Stacey, Iron Man had Pepper Potts, Superman had Lois Lane. So this has become a key features of superhero films. The masked man we can assume is the villain. Every superhero needs a villain, or there would really be no purpose of the superhero. You cannot have one without the other.

The trailer also raises binary oppositions. Simple ones like right vs wrong. Is Hancock using his powers the way he should? Is he going about things the wrong way? Another one could be protection vs destruction. Hancock demonstrates his ability to do right and protect people, but then also show us how he destroys things unnecessarily, putting people in danger.