Hancock's Plot Twist Joins a Legacy of Great Plot Twists

It's undeniable. Will Smith has another hit on his hand, with Hancock. If you've seen the movie you know about the plot twist that has divided movie watchers and critics. I have to admit, I knew what the twist would be as soon as I saw the way Charlize Theron's character was looking at Will Smith. Hopefully, I haven't spilled too many of the beans. Even with the knowledge that I knew what the twist would be, it didn't lose any of its impact when it is finally revealed on the screen.

I don't think that the twist detracts from the movie as much as the editing for time does. Although even with the hurried editing I still found it a very enjoyable movie. Not Independence Day good but extremely enjoyable.

Will Smith's success in this genre is no accident. He and his partner's studied the movie business very carefully before deciding which movies he would take on. His research has obviously paid off in him delivering some of the best summer blockbusters. While Smith may be the blockbuster king, he is not the king of the plot twist. Several other films have introduced classic plot twists.

The Sixth Sense

M. Night Shymalan or as his friends know him, Night, introduced one of the best plot twists ever, in my humble opinion, in the Sixth Sense. An already dead Bruce Willis squires us through the creepily enjoyable movie. With Hayley Joel Osment and most of the audience blithely unaware that anything was amiss. This movie is also a testament to great acting; each character is subtle and believable in their roles. It was perfectly cast.

I own this movie and watch it regularly and it is still to me a great film and the plot twist has lost nothing even with the knowledge that Willis' character is dead.

Unbreakable

Though the plot twist comes relatively early in another of M. Night Shymalan's movies, It is still a beautifully crafted and acted film. Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson both deliver wonderfully layered characterizations that continue to unfold until the films climax. This movie bears a passing resemblance to Hancock, in that it plays on the character's reluctance to embrace his destiny. Where Hancock turns the corner into high action, Unbreakable maintains it's dark and inexorable course.

Pyscho

Alfred Hitchcock crafts and Anthony Perkins delivers one of the greatest plot twists of all times. Made long before people had been inundated with the gore strewn movies of today, Psycho's shower scene was the most erotic and horrific things anyone had seen on screen. After being introduced to Anthony Perkin's in old maid drag; never have I looked at Motel owners on old out of the way desert roads the same. Unfortunately for me, that role typecast Perkins in my mind. No matter what he ever appeared in, he could never erase the specter of him wearing that Laura Ashley frock and wielding that Butcher's knife. Luckily growing up we didn't have a shower or no bathing would have taken place.

The Usual Suspects

"Who is Keyser Soze, who is Keyser Soze?" Who is Keyser Soze, indeed? Kevin Spacey as the lame and afflicted Verbal Kint goes down in history as my single most favorite movie moment. Spacey's transition from Kint to Soze as he strolls away from the police station solidified him as a first class actor. As the audience and the detectives realize that all along they have had Keyser Soze in their clutches and that they have been duped is cinematic genius.

Signs

OK. I admit it; I'm an M. Night Shymalan fan. Well I'm not a fan of The Village or Lady in the Water but I like the movies I've listed here. I spent the whole of Signs after the aliens came on the scene, saying, "I can't believe he actually went there and had actual aliens", but I found it fascinating nonetheless. I think Mel Gibson was great in this role as a man who has lost his faith only to have it resotred, doing battle with Aliens from outerspace. You just can't beat that. I haven't seen the Happening yet so I don't know if Shymalan is back to form.