Really Surprised!

Expected more

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

RELEASED IN 1991 and directed by Steven Spielberg, "Hook" stars Robin Williams as a corporate American Lawyer who must go to the island of Neverland after his two kids are kidnapped in London by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman). He has misadventures with the fairy Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts), pirates and a group of ragtag lost boys led by Rufio (Dante Basco); meanwhile hook tries to win the affections of his kids. Maggie Smith and Gwyneth Paltrow are on hand as older and younger versions of Wendy respectively.This is a family-oriented adventure/fantasy/comedy cut from the same cloth as "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1968), "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971), "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (2004) and "Into the Woods" (2014); it's just not a musical like some of those flicks even though a song or two are featured. Depending on your tastes, "Hook" is no better or worse than any of these movies (although "The Wizard of Oz" is in a league of its own, of course).While I love serious swashbuckling, Peter Pan was always too kiddie/fantasy-based for my tastes. This is ironic since I have Peter Pan Syndrome, which Spielberg also admitted to; and my wife has The Wendy Dilemma (look 'em up). Fans of Peter Pan will favor this flick more than me.Nevertheless, it was made by scores of talented people and contains some genuinely amusing moments (I busted out laughing at least four times). Hoffman's titular character is iconic. And Roberts works surprisingly well as Tinkerbell, but they should've accented her beauty further. Speaking of which, the film needs more feminine sex appeal. Even the makers of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" knew enough to include a little bit.Both Spielberg and Williams liked the two bookend sequences, but have reservations about the long Neverland middle-piece, which is the bulk of the picture. Williams admitted he felt lost in Neverland, probably because he was thrust from one misadventure to another so briskly. But the pre-CGI sets are colorful and imaginative; it's a fun movie with a lot of energy. Peter Pan just ain't my thang.THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hour, 22 minutes (overlong). WRITERS: James V. Hart, Nick Castle and Malia Scotch Marmo wrote the script based on concepts from the works of J.M. Barrie, particular "Peter and Wendy" (1911). BOX OFFICE: The movie cost $70 million (not including marketing) and made $301 million worldwide with $120 million of that domestically. While it was the fourth highest-grossing movie worldwide in 1991, it was still considered a disappointment by producers, the greedy bastages.GRADE: B-/C+

It still is up there among one of my favourites. I get happy everytime I see it. And it's been quite a few times throughout the years. When I get older myself and see my own children growing up, I find new perspectivs in this movie, and myself, every time! Not to speak about the setup of all these fantastic actors. Wonderful, more of this kind, please!

Hook is a film directed by Steven Spielberg. I read about the film some time ago and critics especially had trashed the film for not being upto Speilberg's standard. But watching the film last night on TV, I found it quite good.Plot: Peter Pan, now, Peter Banning has to return to Neverland when his arch-nemesis James Hook kidnaps his kids.Story and direction: I Have always loved Spielberg and his films. He is quite a genius when it comes to film-making. Give him any kind of film, dark or light, in tone, he will deliver it. So I was curious to find what the hell went wrong with this film. First, lets see the positives. I liked the father-son relationship that is shown in the film. A son always has some expectations from his father and when those not fulfilled the son is disappointed. Also the working environment in present days where you get no time to breathe and no time for your family is very well shown. Then we have the scenes from Neverland. Most of the scenes especially with the Lost Boys were awesome. I chucked each and every moment in those scenes. And finally, the battle between Pan and Hook. That was the kind of battle you want to see in a swashbuckling film (although at some places it felt like Star Wars' lightsaber battles). John Williams' score was awesome too. Now for the negatives, the production design of the film felt very poor. The sets actually felt like large giant sets constructed. Then it would be the interaction betwen Peter Pan and Tinker Bell just before the finale. I mean that actually made no sense. And also, Hook's ultimate fate with the crocodile. I didn't get that also. Also the interest in the film during the first hour was on and off. Also as a character I felt the villains were given nothing much to do.Performances: Robin Willaims was great from the scared and taget driven Peter Banning to the child-like Peter Pan. Dustin Hoffman was good too, but he wasn't actually given much to do. Julia Roberts was also excellent. The Lost Boys especially Rufio and Thud Ball were awesome. Bob Hoskins was OK. Maggie Smith was great in her role. So as Caroline Goodall.Favorite Scene: It would be the food eating scene where everyone just starts eating and Peter begins to wonder where the hell is the food. And suddenly he lets his imagination go wild and sees food in front of him. My mouth watered seeing the scene. And the subsequent scene, where there is a war od words between Rufio and Peter. That was hilarious.Verdict: Hook is an enjoyable film. I had a great time with it. Yes, it has some issues regarding themes, characters and some random scenes, but it is still very entertaining. I am going with an 8/10.

"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.