The superhero comedy “Hancock” was released in theaters July 2, generating excitement and high hopes for Will Smith fans and/or superhero movie fans everywhere. Unfortunately for me, a fan of both, “Hancock” failed to deliver.

“Hancock” stars Will Smith (“I Am Legend,” “The Pursuit of Happyness”) as John Hancock, Los Angeles’ drunken jerk of a superhero who nobody seems to appreciate. Though Hancock does save the day every once in awhile, the destruction and attitude he brings with him make him more of an anti-hero than anything else – especially in the eyes of Angelenos.

Then one day, Hancock halfheartedly and ironically, saves Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman “Juno,” “The Kingdom”), a down-on-his-luck public relations representative trying to better the world. In return for saving his life, Ray promises to help Hancock with his image among the views of Los Angeles citizen.

How does Ray improve Hancock’s image? Why he sends him to jail of course. Hilarity ensues.

This is all, by the way, against the wishes of Ray’s wife, Mary (Charlize Theron “Monster,” “The Italian Job”). This was the first thing I did not like about “Hancock.” The moment Theron’s character first appears on camera, it is blatantly obvious that she and Hancock have some sort of history together, which comes as no surprise when it is revealed half way through the movie.

This is where the movie lost me: right at the halfway point. The second half of the film poses so many questions that it would take another hour and a half to answer them all. This was reminiscent of “X-Men: The Last Stand” where director Brett Ratner attempted to smash 10 movies worth of information into 104 minutes.

This is a common problem for filmmakers who have genuinely good ideas; they take their ideas and run like the wind. “Hancock” adds a clever twist to your average superhero movie, which is why I had such high hopes for it. Unfortunately, writers Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan liked their idea so much that they went completely overboard.

The bottom line is that “Hancock” easily could have been split into two movies, with the second half acting as a sequel to be released down the road. I guess Ngo and Gilligan didn’t want to wait. Maybe they thought that fans would lose interest if they had to wait for a sequel.

Whatever the case, there is simply too much packed into the second half.

Overall, “Hancock” is a genuinely clever take on the superhero genre with an entertaining first half. However, once the film reaches its half-way point, it quickly goes down hill, leaving many viewers, including myself, wanting some answers.

Ian Bostick can be reached at [email protected].