Hancock (film) Hancock" before settling on its final title. Prior to the film's release, marketing consultants attempted to persuade Sony Pictures to again change the title "Hancock" because it was too vague for audiences, suggesting alternatives like "Heroes Never Die", "Unlikely Hero", and "Less Than Hero". Despite the advice, Sony stayed with "Hancock" and anticipated marketing on the popularity of the film's star, Will Smith. "Hancock" had its world premiere as the opener at the 30th Moscow International Film Festival on June 19, 2008. To avoid copyright infringement, organizers took "unprecedented" steps to prevent illegal reproduction of the film. For the film,
Hancock (film) Smith avoided playing Hancock "as a goofball" and instead portrayed him as a more subtle and serious character. Stephen Farber said that "Hancock" was a good showcase for the leads, affirming that Smith shone in a film that was only sporadically worthy of his performance, while Colm Andrew of the Manx Independent said that despite the mix of themes "the laughs are frequent and genuine (no forced slapstick), the fight scenes exciting and the emotional stuff quite moving ". Jim Schembri concluded that the film was "refreshing, savvy, fun and fast". He said it managed to mix comedy and action