The TV Addict 

Dear Big Willie,

Like most people, it’s fair to say I’m a great admirer of yours. Heck, I even know you well enough to call you Big Willie, a nickname you obviously encourage. You’re talented, undeniably charming, a genuine screen presence, and perhaps – as I argued here – the only genuine movie star we have left.

That’s why I feel the need to protect you from yourself. You see, it seems like you’re developing a problem, and I hope by pointing it out – by leading you to acceptance – you’ll be able to turn things around before they get worse.

The release of HANCOCK on DVD reminded me of something I wrote about in my original review of the movie. The anti-superhero flick marks the second time in a row (along with I AM LEGEND) one of your movies started off with great potential only to completely start derail and exponentially get worse once it hit the halfway point. They started out being interesting departures for you, only to chicken out halfway through and turn into – for lack of gentler way of saying – really bad Will Smith movies.

The problem is obviously still in its infancy stages, so there’s plenty of time to fix things. I especially suggest two possible solutions. First, now that you’re aware of the issue, when you’re reading scripts make damn sure there isn’t a sudden and strange tone shift halfway through. If you need pointers on how to recognize such shifts … Well, how do I say this? Re-watch I AM LEGEND and HANCOCK maybe?

Second, this may not be the case, but I suspect it might be possible that this all comes down to cold-feet. You’re willing to go against what audiences expect from a Will Smith movie, but only for so long before you suddenly freak out and want to go back. It’s okay Big Willie. Let go. If we’re open to you going in a different direction for the first half film, we’ll stick with you for the second half too. It’s like that falling backward trust game people do all the time. Let yourself go out on a limb. We’ll catch you.

What you’ll find if you heed my advice is that not only will your problem be solved, but both you and we will feel better. Mostly us though. Because, seriously? That second half of I AM LEGEND was horrible.

Yours truly,

Big REELie

(Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em).