Hook

Purportedly Steven Spielberg is not happy with the end product of Hook. I'm at a loss to know why because I think it's an absolutely charming fantasy, using his own peculiar take on the Peter Pan story and extending it.

Robin Williams as Peter Banning is a hard driving lawyer with a wife and two children Caroline Goodall, Charlie Korsmo and Amber Scott respectively. He was an orphan kid who married the granddaughter of Wendy Darling who was Sir James M. Barrie's inspiration for the Peter Pan tale.

But it's all real, Robin Williams doesn't know he's Peter Pan who left Never Never Land for reasons you'll discover in the film. But he left one nasty enemy there in Captain Hook and Hook captures his children to lure him back to Never Never Land where Hook can take vengeance upon him.

Spielberg got some great performances out of his cast which also includes Julia Roberts as the elfin Tinkerbell and Maggie Smith as the aged Wendy. But stealing the film completely in one bravura performance is Dustin Hoffman.

Captain Hook is one of those fabulous roles where the actor can just feast on the scenery and can just go to town with it. It's a role that it is impossible to overact in. I doubt if Dustin Hoffman ever enjoyed himself more in making a film.

Hook got five Oscar nominations in the technical categories, but sad to say did not win anything in 1991. I'm surprised that one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator films beat Hook out for Best Visual Effects, this one is clearly superior in that department if anything.

Robin Williams has his innings as well, trying to remember his past as Peter Pan and get back into Pan like behavior to defeat Captain Hook. As to why he left Never Never Land in the first place. Let's just say he took one too many trips outside his domain and something happened to him that happens to all young men at some point.

Hook is a great piece of family entertainment from Steven Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman's fans will really enjoy it.

I'm not one of the people fortunate enough to catch this in the theaters. I am, however, one of the people who loudly objects to the negative critical response to this film.

Peter Pan growing up is a wonderfully refreshing concept and saying "it adds nothing to the Peter Pan mythos" confuses me to no end. The beautiful practical sets would never have come to pass in an age where Spielberg and Lucas have gone crazy with the CGI and accusing them of being cartoony is rather superfluous seeing as Peter Pan's not exactly known for its realism. The actors all turn in decent performances, the best being Robin William's uptight Peter Banning and childlike Peter Pan, Dustin Hoffman's deliciously evil Captain Hook, and Bob Hoskins. Nothing to say about Bob Hoskins; if he's on screen, he's giving it his all.

I deduct points from the film do to the third act with the war, not because the Lost Boys use incredibly implausible weapons to fight the pirates but because Peter stops being savvy about Hook, there's a rather unnecessary dark moment during an otherwise cartoony climax, and about a half dozen inconsistencies appear in the span of five minutes. But, other than that, Hook is a brilliant film and its "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes is simply a travesty, for not only is it a heartfelt Spielberg experience, but when the movie wants to be funny, it's REALLY funny. Listen not to the critics unless they are Jim Sterling or Doug Walker, because this film is one of the best.

I, personally, cannot understand why so many people have left negative comments about this film. When it was released, many of us were young children and we all enjoyed it, but now that we are older, too many people are pointing out the bad jokes and mistakes and clichés that they have found. The point is, this is a children's film, and we didn't see those mistakes when we were children because it's designed that way. Even so, people fail to see deeper into certain aspects of the film. Peter Pan was meant to be 'the boy who never grew up', so to have a tale of his adult life and to show how he forgot Neverland is a special and unique take on the story, one that won't be forgotten.

There have also been many complaints about the scene where Tink becomes human-size and expresses some kind of love for Peter. Although she is not a human per se, she can have human feelings, so why would she not love him? As the original story tells, she is often jealous of other womens' affections towards him, and this film just extrapolates on that theme a little.

There have been comments about the 'father-who-is-so-busy-and-can't-go-to-the-game' cliché. Well, here's news for you. It's cliché because it happens all the time, and it's a truth! Some parents are just too busy to care. Lastly, too many people are moaning that Hook was too comical to be the bad guy. Well, this is a kids film and if he wasn't a little bit cheery-in-a-maniac sort of way, you'd have parents complaining that their kids were scared.

The main thing about this film is that it is really good, but it IS designed for children, and adults who go back and watch it years later, then suddenly spot loads of mistakes are just ruining it for themselves and others.

I really can't understand why this movie has gotten so much hate throughout the years. I remember it as a hit. When it came out, all my cousins of around my age loved it, my friends loved it, I didn't know any kid that didn't at least like it. As for adults, isn't it a fun concept to see what it would be like if Peter Pan grew up? Who else could play a grown Pan than Robin Williams? Julia Roberts was perfect for Tinker Bell. Though I have heard she was a nightmare to deal with behind the scenes. The lost boys were excellent, a good balance of fun and humor, along with some serious parts in there too. Dustin Hoffman as captain Hook? I don't know if he won any awards, but that man should have. Probably his best performance.

This movie is a classic. F&@# the naysayers.

This is a fantastic classic movie of a classic fairy tale.

The sets are amazing (none of this green screen crap!)

The acting is fantastic. Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Smith, Robin Williams, and Charlie Korsmo do an especially good job.

The adaptation is written very well. Instead of the boy who can't grow up, it's the man who's forgotten how to have fun, and be in the moment, like a child.

The IMDb rating is way off. How the hell does Pitch Perfect, and rubbish like that do better? How? Because either this site is full of morons with no taste, or the world is, or more likely both...

All negativeness aside, this is a great movie, if you haven't scene it, you're missing out.