slightlymad22
When it was first released, this movie caught me at totally the wrong time. I was 15 and my taste in movies was changing, I was a Robin Williams fan (thanks to movies such as The Fisher King, Good Morning Vietnam and Awakenings) and I knew Dustin Hoffman was great due to the movies of his I had seen (Marathon Man, Rain Man, Tootsie and Midnight Cowboy) and based on the trailer, I was expecting something different to what was delivered. Dull, Bland, boring and (to steal a word from BobbyKlump) saccharine!! Spielberg's Daddy issues are right at the front and centre of this over long movie. Williams is your typical Spielberg Dad, in that he is absent (although he is present) with no time for his kids, as he is always at work. Or ignoring his kids whilst he deals with phone calls to do with work. When he is there he is usually snapping at them to shut up or grow up.It takes to long to get going, there are too many characters, too much bad acting (The Lost Boys are especially bad) and too many props. The whole thing looks like what it is, a movie set, right down to the unconvincing backdrops. Then there are the endings!! Not since LOTR: Return Of The King have I seen a movie with this many endings!! One after another. Farewells. Poignancy. Lessons to be learned. Speeches to be made. Tears to be shed. It is embarrassingly excessive.Of the cast Hoffman seems to think he is in a panto, Maggie Smith is a joy, I think the woman can do no wrong. Charlie Korsmo and Amber Scott (as the Branning children) are probably the best performers in the movie. Blink and you will miss Gwenyth PaltrowJulia Roberts was nicknamed "Tinkerhell" because she was difficult to deal with, a reaction to her working conditions of solitude and green screen. Production had to be temporarily shut down, when she fled California after calling off her wedding to Kiefer Sutherland. A furious Spielberg threatened to fire her if she didn't return immediately.Hook grossed $119 million at the domestic box office, to end 1991 s the 6th highest grossing movie!! Finishing behind T2, Prince Of Thieves, Beauty & The Beast, Silence Of The Lambs and City Slickers.
gbean2397
I have seen interviews where Spielberg looks back on this film not so enthusiastically, feeling the Neverland sequences weren't his best. Yea, not exactly perfect, but I'd have to say "Bullsh*t" if he, or anybody else, says this movie sucks. It doesn't. The positives outweigh the negatives: The fantastical music score by John Williams will pull at your heartstrings, the premise of Peter Pan leaving Neverland and growing up is an interesting one, and I'd say Dustin Hoffman (who is totally unrecognizable) and Robin Williams are outstanding as Captain Hook and Peter Pan.This was a childhood favorite of mine, I grew up with it, and even when I'm about to turn 25 in the next couple months, I STILL LOVE this movie. And it has appeared that I am not alone in this, as I've seen people come up and say how much they love it. Right now I'm watching it after so long and I had shed tears during the "There you are Peter" scene, man does time fly.But still, I say this is one of Spielberg's most underrated films, and if you need a big reason to watch it, watch it for John Williams' music score, it will take you into the film on an emotional level. I need to watch this with my nephew in the future.
andrew-repko
"You know you're not really Peter Pan, don't you? This is only a dream. When you wake up, you'll just be Peter Banning - a cold, selfish man who drinks too much, is obsessed with success, and runs and hides from his wife and children!"Everyone has watched Hook many times. Many do not understand what the movie is truly about. Its about Peter Pan, once a hero and leader, who became a terrible father, husband and person. And receiving one final life lesson from his own Father. Yes, Hook is Peter Pan's father, don't believe me, go watch the movie again and try to convince me what I'm about to tell you isn't true. In a way, Hook is the father to all of the lost boys. He's the authority figure in their lives that prevents them total anarchy, especially Peter Pan. Young Peter was an arrogant jerk, he even cut of Hook (his father's) hand and fed it to a crocodile. Hook did whatever he could to keep PP in check, but it was time for Peter to grow up, when it was time Hook allowed him to leave Neverland and become a man. What happens next Hook could have never believed. PP once an arrogant boy, has turned into and awful father, who is obsessed with work and ignores his family. As soon as Hook was able to help correct his parenting mistake, he seized his opportunity. He "kidnapped" or as I see it, babysat Pete's kids. He knew he needed to show Pete that he needed to care about his kids and nothing helps like a lesson in losing your kid. That was the first of many lessons ol Captian Hook provided Peter. He forced Peter to fight for his kids, and when he arrived in Neverland, Hook was more disappointed in Peter then ever. Hook contemplated taking his own like, because he was so disappointed in how Pete turned out. If Hook wanted to harm Peter or his kids he had more then ample chances to do so, but that was never his plan. He simply told him "Fly up and touch your kids hand and go home" virtually saying, if you love your kids you will find a way to get to them. Peter failed miserable, what a weenie. After Hook release Peter and hoped that Tink could help him find his old self, Hook stepped in a raised Peters kids. He was every bit the father to them, that Peter never was. Hook showed up for Jack and help put Maggie in her place when it needed to be done. Hook even gave Jack some sweet threads and a dope wig and hat. During the great war at the end of the movie, Hook kills Rufio, and I know what you think, only a bad guy would kill Rufio. But the way I see it, Rufio was a terrible influence on the Lost Boys and they needed a new leader once Peter went back. This led to Peter naming Thud Butt the leader of the lost boys, more on this later. You may even say, that Hook was trying to kill PP during their "battle" seen. That battle was Petey's final test, to prove to his dad he's ready to be the good father Hook was. Hook could have ended them a bunch of times, even dropping that line from the top enforcing to Peter what this whole thing was about. It was about Pete not being there for his kids, not caring for his wife and most of all caring too much about his work. Hook was never the best man, but he expected more from his kids, Wendy specifically called Pete a Pirate in the beginning of the Movie and shortly thereafter, Hook intervened. So once Hook realized at the end, when Peter showed Mercy on him after he listened to his kids, that Peter learned his final and greatest lesson. Hook decided to disappear and please, save me the "crocodile ate him" Hot takes. That croc was dead.Other great things about this movie. The Thud Ball by Thud Butt, that was totally dope. I'm glad he pulled it off two different times. Thud Butt was the perfect replacement for Rufio. Rufio was a war driven tyrant, whereas Thud Butt was a pacifist he preferred not to use swords. Making him the leader of the lost boys was part of Peter fulfilling his father, Hook's legacy. Neverland needed peace, not war and Thud Butt was the person they needed. This movie has some glaring plot holes as well. How the Heck old is Peter Pan? He has to be at least 100 years old. When he ran away as a baby (Baby's can't runaway, that crap made no sense) he immediately wen to Neverland. There is no indication on how much time passes in Neverland compared to the real world, But when he first meets Wendy and fam, he's roughly Wendy's age. In this movie Wendy is in her 90s, I'm assuming Peter was living in neverland at lease 30-50 years just get to the age he was when he left. But its hard to tell. His age however may play a role into him forgetting his past.I'll leave you with compliments about Hook from his closest confidant, Smee. "Good Mooooooooooooorning, Neverland! Tie down the main mast, mateys, 'cause here he is, the cunning kingfish, the bad barracuda! A man so deep, he's almost unfathomable. A man so quick, he's even fast... asleep! Now, let's give him a very big hand, 'cause he's only got one. I give you, the steel-handed stingray, Captain James Hook!"I mean come on, this movie is named after Hook and not Peter.
