Hancock twist causes controversy ???

Editor's Note: The following Associated Press story is filled with film spoilers, including ones for "The Crying Game" and "The Sixth Sense." If you'd rather wait to see them yourself, stop reading now.

"Hancock" has divided critics and audiences with its abrupt twist, which has been described as coming out of left field.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A Will Smith movie packs in millions of people over Fourth of July weekend. No surprises there.

Yet Smith's "Hancock," the tale of an anti-social boozer who happens to be a superhero, comes with an abrupt plot twist, one that has divided critics and the movie going public in the real world. (Critics and everyone else can't agree. Now there's a real surprise.)

For those who have yet to see "Hancock," we won't give the secret away, but it has something to do with why Charlize Theron's soccer-mom-style character doesn't want Smith's surly superhero anywhere near her family.

Critics generally thought the turn the movie takes halfway through was a cheat, spoiling what had been a promising idea that was a fresh twist on the superhero genre in its own right. (CNN.com's Tom Charity described the twist as coming "so far out of left field you would need a crystal ball to see it coming."

The people who turned "Hancock" into an instant blockbuster beg to differ -- to the sum of $185 million worldwide at the box office in just a few days.

Smith stars as John Hancock

The plot twist in "Hancock" won't go down in cinema history alongside (SPOILER ALERT!) Darth Vader revealing he's Luke Skywalker's pappy in "The Empire Strikes Back" or Anthony Perkins turning out to be a slasher in his mom's housedress in "Psycho."

However, it does give us a chance to buzz once more about the really great curve balls -- and maybe a wild pitch or two -- that Hollywood has tossed our way.

Here's a look at some of the most memorable screen surprises, in no particular order:

- MY GIRL: Has there ever been a stranger what-the-heck moment than the revelation that the enticing woman Stephen Rea lusts after in "The Crying Game" really is a guy? The dreamlike gotcha gesture delivered from beyond by Forest Whitaker's character was directed as much at male audiences everywhere who had to hit the reset button on their manhood after falling for Jaye Davidson as a hot new screen goddess only to learn he shared their XY chromosome makeup.

- THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS US: How do you turn an utterly forgettable movie into one for the ages? Let Charlton Heston learn that the super-food of the future is made of humans so he can bellow "Soylent Green is PE-E-E-OPLE!" And don't forget the "Saturday Night Live" skit about a "Soylent Green" sequel where Phil Hartman impersonates Heston, learning that the powers that be didn't change the recipe like they promised, so he can holler "It's still PE-E-E-OPLE!"

- HEAD IN THE SAND: Heston gets to curse out humanity in general in "Planet of the Apes" as he stumbles on the noggin of the Statue of Liberty lying on the beach and realizes he's been on Earth all along -- but in the distant future, after his species has blown itself up. Tim Burton's remake substitutes a terrible twist as astronaut Mark Wahlberg makes it off the simian world and returns to his planet, only to find a monkey named "Ape Lincoln" sitting on the Lincoln Memorial.

- POOR BRUCE IS DEAD: With "Breakfast of Champions" and "The Story of Us," Bruce Willis' career might have been dead. But M. Night Shyamalan kept him alive by killing him off in the opening moments of "The Sixth Sense" but concealing that fact so completely that moviegoers were shocked into seeing the flick again and again after they learned he was a ghost. Audiences were somewhat less than shocked with Shyamalan and Willis' next surprise ending -- superheroes are real! -- in "Unbreakable."

- READY FOR MY SHOWER, MR. HITCHCOCK: Perkins as his own mother has enduring shock value, but Alfred Hitchcock pulled a true stunner earlier in "Psycho" as the killer snuffed Janet Leigh, the movie's lead character up to that moment. That's like Dickens having Oliver Twist die of cholera in chapter three. Who do you root for when the heroine gets tossed in the trunk of her car and submerged in a swamp?

- KEYSER SPACEY: As prime suspect Gabriel Byrne lay dying near the end of "The Usual Suspects," you just had to wonder "Well if it's not him, who the heck is Keyser Soze?" Watching Kevin Spacey transform from the grubby, gimpy little Verbal Kint into world-class criminal mastermind Soze in the space of one city block is one of those moments that makes you think "Yeah, this is why I like movies."

- MY SISTER, MY MOM: Incest turns out to be the stuff of one of cinema's most artful surprises at the end of "Chinatown," when we learn that Faye Dunaway's little sister also is her daughter. And we get to see Jack Nicholson slap the information out of her -- repeatedly -- in a climax that's nothing short of a gut-punch.

- MISSION IMPERTINENT: Speaking of slaps in the face, arguably the worst plot twist ever comes in Tom Cruise's first "Mission: Impossible" tale. Millions grew up watching Peter Graves' noble Jim Phelps run the Impossible Mission Force on the small screen. So when Jon Voight's Phelps turns out to be the bad guy in Cruise's version, it was disrespectful of both the source material and its fans. Why didn't Cruise just play Phelps himself, but as the hero everyone remembered the character for? Maybe Cruise was afraid that, like Graves, he would wind up hosting episodes of "Biography" in his golden years.

Hancock Spoilers !!!!

How "Hancock" Could Have Been a Good Movie…or Two

Will Smith is Mr. July 4th weekend. “Independence Day.” “Men in Black.” To a much lesser extend, “Wild Wild West.” And this year he’s back in multiplexes with another big budget July 4th action movie called “Hancock.” I saw it last night.

“Hancock” is an incredibly frustrating movie because its concept is so damn good. And the story points in the movie only improve on that great idea. But ultimately the film tries to accomplish so much in such a short period of time that it fails miserably. There are some cool moments and some good performances, especially from Big Willie Style, but the film is very disappointing.

However, no matter how mediocre the film is chances are many of you are going to see it this holiday weekend. It’s going to be a monster simply because Will appeals to so many different demographics. So my hypothesis is this. Say it in deep trailer voice guy.

This Fourth of July weekend. MILLIONS of Americans are going to be discussing the same thing. How “Hancock” Could Have Been A Good Movie..or Two.

So let me get the ball rolling first. However to do so I have to delve DEEP into spoiler territory. So if you plan on seeing “Hancock,” you should definitely walk away after this paragraph. But please come back after you’ve seen the movie to see if you agree with my assessment.

Okay - This is your Official Spoiler Warning .

x

It’s spoiler time.

The trailers make it pretty obvious what the film is about. A drunken, depressed superhero looks to change his negative image by using a public relations expert. Wow - what a great idea. The only problem is the film picks up that story right in the middle. When we meet Hancock he’s already drunk and depressed and after two incidents (and a YouTube montage) we just have to buy that he’s been wreaking havoc for a long time.

Why rush this? Because you want to get to the rehab, sure, but if you are starting a superhero franchise, give us more to work with. Isn’t a drunken Hancock far more interesting then a cleaned up one? Wouldn’t it have been cool to have a drunken Hancock save the day and really dig into his psyche?

I know what you are thinking. We DO get more back story. Of course we do. We get it when *DUM DUM DUM* it’s revealed that Charlize Theron is also a superhero! Now, I called this from Trailer 2. The second Hancock says “I’m the only one of my kind” I knew he wasn’t. Plus you see her wearing leather.

But even if you didn’t figure it out before seeing the movie, Peter Berg’s elementary direction gives it away the second she comes on screen. Reaction shot after reaction shot of her being disturbed by Hancock make the reveal almost embarrassing. (And don’t get me started on his liberal use of the circular tracking shot. We get it. The character is confused.)

To me, at the point of the big reveal, “Hancock” almost becomes “Hancock 2″ as he begins to discover who he really is. Theron’s explanation is the stuff of comic book genius too, making the rush job that much more frustrating. Superheroes, as they are now called, were put here by the Gods to keep the Earth safe. An insurance policy.

Each has an opposite that is drawn to one another but when those two come together, the immortal powerhouses slowly become more mortal. Because of their need to love, all the others have died. Except Hancock and Theron. How awesome is that? So awesome in fact that it’s glossed over in about 30 minutes of back and forth banter and action. Ugh.

What if drunk Hancock was one movie, with the reveal of his origin and opposite hero at the end, and the second movie was he and Charlize battling it out while we learn about their torrid love affair over several centuries? How epic do those movies sound? Then, the third film could be the actual inevitable “Hancock 2,” with him in NY and her in LA. Instead, both of these stories are crunched into 92 minutes.

But even if the screenwriters, producers and director were set on making those two stories one movie, they still have a major issue. They don’t know who their audience is. Part of the movie plays to comedy fans while the other half plays to superhero fans and by playing to both audiences, they disrespect both.

For example, any time someone calls Hancock and A-Hole he gets really upset. This happens at least 4 times in the movie. It’s very Marty McFly-ish. But after the second time, the joke just gets tired. And when we find out that Charlize can’t stand people calling her “crazy” it’s down right insulting. Superheroes have flaws, that’s for sure, but verbal bating rarely one of them. That’s the filmmakers trying to be funny but simultaneously letting down superhero fans.

On the flip side, superhero fans love a great origin story. And while we never get specific origin stuff, what we do get is a brief scene teasing the centuries long relationship between superheroes. But we get no flashbacks. What is this, radio? Show us something!

So yeah, if you couldn’t already tell, I was extremely frustrated by “Hancock.” It’s so forced, so rushed and so full of potential. There was definitely a good movie in there - two actually, by my count - but instead we get a mishmash hour and a half that does very little right.

At least superhero fans have “The Dark Knight” and comedy fans have “Tropic Thunder” and “Pineapple Express” to look forward to for the rest of the summer. Those movies know what they are. At least, I hope they do.