Proverbial Fresh Prince Will Smith has a history of playing upright, morally superior characters. He doesn't ghetto his characters up, choosing instead to represent the fully Americanized black man--a self-confident, affable human being that somehow still expects and receives the respect of every race. So what is he thinking by taking the role of Hancock, a drunken, politically incorrect superhuman trying to get his act together so that he can become a hero? His motivation was probably in the spirit of change; in essence, speaking to the gangstas of the world who resent the white man's success yet persist in the most of degrading of African-American behavior. (Spike Lee went so far as to decry African American themed TV shows as ''minstrel shows" a few years ago)

Of course, Hancock is really not about race, at least not internally. It follows a much more traditional superhero arc, regarding lost secrets, shocking revelations and Doing The Right, you know, for a positive change. It figures that Bugs Bunny-esque Will Smith would be unwilling to take Hancock into much muddier themes regarding race, superhuman morality and political upheaval. It isn't his style, though I had hoped he would elevate Hancock into a more mature piece. Even Bryan Singer's X-Men was capable of at least a political undercurrent. Hancock is more concerned with parodying Spider Man's wholesome image and then plagiarizing Spider Man's morality lectures a few acts later. To be honest, the plot twist of the film didn't tug at my heart, my curious mind or even my funny bone. If anything, it seemed to be a cop out by Will Smith, who was afraid to explore the darkness his womanizing character allegedly had.

Performances in the film are adequate, if a bit forced. There were a few thrilling moments in the film, which involved Will Smith abandoning his politician-like persona (albeit temporarily) and perpetrating some laughably vile social misdeeds. Jason Bateman tries too hard, which is unfortunate, because when he is subtle (such as in last year's Juno) he is truly amazing to behold. Charlize Theron chews scenery, though at least her face manages to capture some eroticism and charm.

It's at once surprising and yet predictable that Peter Berg directed this film. Berg has a habit of creating some truly high concept ideas and then failing to instill them with any particular comedy or drama. See The Kingdom and Very Bad Things. One can only wonder how he will redeem himself or totally screw up 2010's Dune, which has some strong Lynchian roots in cinema.

Hancock is a promising idea with little pay off. Will Smith would have been ideal casting in a much more ambitious project, such as the Avengers movie or even Alan Moore's Watchmen, which will soon be brought to the screen. Either he had too much control in Hancock and insisted on a corny, hardly-constructed morality fable or Peter Berg really didn't follow his hard-hitting concept through. In either event, Hancock is a let down. Nevertheless, if the idea of a drunken Fresh Prince misbehaving in public vaguely appeals to you (or if you want to see one of the more entertaining prison-rape defense maneuvers in an action film) then the film may provide a few slaphappy, twitch-in-your couch guffaws reminiscent of those rehearsed late night talk shows inhabited by Will Smith. Grade: C+