Hook

Hook (1991)

Runtime: 142 minutes

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith

From: Tri-Star

Ru-Fi-Oh!

Would people believe me when I say that last night was the first time I've seen this in full since experiencing the film with my family in a hotel room while on vacation in early 1992? Many of you may not remember or realize that way back when, you could rent movies in hotel rooms, the draw being that they had not yet come to home video. After we saw it, no one in my family was a real fan of Hook. This was why it took three full decades for this time to arrive. At least this second viewing was better, only speaking for audio/visual: a UHD streaming rental seen on a 4K television.

I had only recalled a few things: the character of Rufio and “I've lost my marbles” being the strongest memories. As a middle-aged adult, I am still “meh” about it all. The general messages presented are nice and all & it's an interesting idea for Peter Pan author J. M. Barrie to have been inspired to write the story about real life figures... it's a shame that adult Pan is such a putz for so long... a crude lawyer/yuppie stereotype who OF COURSE is afraid of heights/flying and is a dumb A-hole. It is a rather long slog before he finally becomes the Pan of old. Meanwhile, I was infinitely more interested in Captain Hook; while I recalled him as a broken old man, “a bipolar suicidal man” was quite the shock. His scheming and machinations did intrigue so I wish there would have been more of that.

The movie is not awful by any means. Interesting set design, a nice cast that did not feature any bad performances (Bob Hoskins as Smee was the highlight for me), a boss John Williams score, and a final act that I mostly enjoyed did help. It's just a shame that so much of it overall inspired eye-rolling or sighs, not to mention this is too long at almost 2 1/2 hours. Even as an 11 year old I preferred Spielberg movies like the Indiana Jones franchise or E.T. I'll just shrug my shoulders and be glad that many others have fond memories of this. Hook does feature people I had no clue or memory were in this: Phil Collins appearing for a minute and my utter shock at seeing a just starting her career Gwyneth Paltrow in another small role. Anyhow, there's more Spielberg to revisit that I'll enjoy more than my trip back to Neverland.