Hook (1991)

I fondly remember watching and loving Hook as a kid, maybe 10 years old. But re-watching it was a more vivid experience than I expected. I FELT things I hadn't felt since seeing it so long ago. We get excited at that age, we fill in the gaps. We believe flying is possible, why not? As adults, I think we sometimes become more cynical, much like Peter Banning in the movie. That was the irony: this movie is nostalgic for me, but the way Spielberg directs it, the movie itself is clearly about those feelings of nostalgia.Peter Banning (Robin Williams) has forgotten who he is. As he discovers himself, I was realising how much this movie captured my imagination as a kid. I can now relate to Peter, perhaps more than to his children. Spielberg uses swelling music and close-ups to suggest profound things, as if we should be familiar with something - it creates this feeling of deja vu. For example, when the crazy old man says a riddle ending with "got to save Maggie, got to save Jack, Hook is back..." We feel like we should know what this means. It draws you in. The same for when Peter gets back to Neverland and everyone has sudden moments of realization when they recognize him. The filming exaggerates those emotions, paralleling my own memories coming back as I watch.I find Dustin Hoffman very funny as Hook. He openly hates the pirates who surround him, but they remain oblivious, taking his insults as merely playful. He is facing a midlife crisis. A proud, successful pirate but with no great enemy to battle. Where's the fun in that? He enjoys the sport in a good fight, which is why he seeks his old nemesis, Peter.The music by John Williams is among his best which is no small feat. It captures the feelings of loss and sadness that surround Peter's mysterious and forgotten childhood, the pure adventure of flying, fighting and crowing and other things.The child performances are of a high standard. Both Maggie and Jack come across as real, with mixed emotions. The daughter is more pure, loving her parents, wanting to be saved, being full of hope and strongly disliking Hook. Jack is more conflicted, being somewhat let down by his father being too busy for him at times. He goes through several changes of heart, many of which are quite moving. Hook can't corrupt the girl, but he comes close with the boy.Hook is more about emotions than the specifics of what happens and why. It's about rediscovering yourself and that place between dreams and reality which Tinkerbell mentions. It's about jubilation, finding your happy thoughts, reconnecting with loved ones, reassessing one's life. There are many moments of humour which I don't want to spoil. There are plenty of aspects of the plot which are silly and may not hold up to scrutiny but it doesn't matter. Hook isn't for everyone, but kids of all ages may well love it if the story suits their taste.

"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.

I absolutely love this movie. I know that it's different for Peter Pan growing up and starting a family but I like that he wanted to grow up. Not everyone can live forever and not get bored of it. I know I would. I thought it was a nice change from the original Peter Pan. I love how Peter falls in love and wants to start a family but has to choose if he wants to be a lost boy or a dad. This movie has the amazing Robin Williams that I always close to my heart. With his humor and story- telling skills, he makes this movie a one in a million.

The legend of Peter Pan goes way beyond the play that James Barrie wrote in the early 1900's and has been performed mostly in the 1950's musical version that has been filmed several times for TV. Few plays not only get produced as much as this has, but along with prequels, sequels and dramatized studies of how it was created, it is even a far greater dramatized children's tale than "The Wizard of Oz". For this 1991 Steven Spielberg smash hit, the sequel (or "fantasy follow up" which I prefer) takes place many years after the original play occurred, and deals with an aging lady named Wendy (Maggie Smith in one of her sweetest performances) who is rumored to be the original, even if the tale is only indeed a legend. She is being honored for her philanthropy for finding homes for orphaned boys, and her grandson-in-law (Robin Williams) is one of them. He's a hard nosed lawyer, too devoted to his career to pay much attention to his wife and young children, but flying to London to see the woman who found a home for him get this award shows that in spite of all that, he's got a soft spot somewhere inside his prickly personality.While there, strange things start happening. Granny Wendy has a seemingly senile brother (the adorable Arthur Malet) who keeps looking for his lost marbles, and a big sheepdog buries Williams' cellphone which his wife threw out of the window after confronting him over his angry outburst towards his children for interrupting a business conversation. During Smith's award ceremony, sudden winds burst open the sleeping children's giant windows, and when the group returns home, Williams finds a note from the alleged Captain Hook who wants one last showdown with his old rival Peter Pan. This leads Smith to reveal the truth, that Williams is indeed the aging Peter Pan, having abandoned Neverland to marry her granddaughter and turning into the grown-up he always resented. Thanks to wise- cracking Tinker Bell (a perky Julia Roberts), Williams ends up back in Neverland where the lost boys, at first not believing that this paunchy middle aged man could be their beloved pal Peter, put him through the rigorous exercise of being able to recapture what he's lost so he can reclaim his children from Hook (a delightful Dustin Hoffman, emulating Terry-Thomas) and live happily ever after with them in Neverland.Sounds great, right? Yep. In many cases, it is, but the script doesn't know whether this is a family movie geared towards children or an allegory for adults. Some of the screenplay is very wise in its message, and at other times, it sinks to the depths of what makes little boys giggle and adults groan. Most of the boys are fine, although a few (especially the very overweight grinning black kid) will grate on some viewer's nerves with their insipid "cuteness". The Asian actor playing Pan's rival for power in Neverland is very good, giving a little political twist to how they run their little community, as is the little black boy who is the first to believe that Williams is Peter. A violent twist involving one of the boys towards the end will be shocking to everybody and horrifying to the very young. At times, the interaction between the kids comes off as a cross between the youthful gangsters of "Bugsy Malone", a re-hash of the "Bowery Boys" movies and the juvenile humor of "Scooby Doo". Where this film succeeds is in the lessons that Williams learns from this adventure. Hoffman, as well as Bob Hoskins as a delightful Smee, are the acting stand-outs. It is also successful artistically, making me wish there was a Peter Pan theme park that expanded it beyond a Disneyland look. It's also ironic to see Arthur Malet getting the final shot (getting to fly after regaining his marbles), having nearly 30 years before trying to prevent banker father Dick Van Dyke from floating to the top of the ceiling in "Mary Poppins". Spielberg combines the joy of childhood and the disillusionment's of adulthood come together, but the conflict in moods and messages prevents it from becoming fully successful. With constant revivals of the musical "Peter Pan", the successful prequel ("Peter & the Starcatcher") and the fairly successful historical docu-musical ("Finding Neverland", based upon another hit movie) having hit Broadway, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody tried to musicalize this, but after seeing the movie, that seems like a nearly impossible task.