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Hook
Comedy Adventure / English / 1991

WHY'D I WATCH IT?
Reorganizing my Top Ten list. Reassessment time.

WHAT'D I THINK? *SPOILERS*
"We gotta make him BANGARANG!"

Dogs, Pigeons, Chickens (both dead and alive), Eggs, Steak, Meat Slabs, I can totally understand someone not liking Hook. It's so filled with Cheese and... maybe I should start a new sentence.

Hook is so filled with whimsical cliches, plotholes, and basically failures to explain what the hell the rules of the world are (Why can only Peter fly? Why doesn't he need fairy dust? What's the deal with the thimbles? What the **** was up with that ending?) that it's easy to get lost in cynicism and criticize it's not semi-unconventional plot.

But that's also probably the biggest defense that could be made about the movie. It's all about AVOIDING that cynicism. It's echoed in how Peter is too involved in his job to appreciate his kids while they're young and it's further echoed by how Neverland never really opens up to him until he learns to flex that old imagination and play like a kid again.

NOW, you could criticize Robin Williams for yet again reprising his role as a manchild and you could further criticize the cast with Julia Roberts and even the child actors. AGAIN, I'm not saying they're not problematic, Dustin Hoffman is great as the eponymous scenery-chewing Captain Hook and I think Smee also gets a few great moments, but yeah, I'm not denying there are problems with this movie, I just don't think they're as bad as what... 30% on Rotten Tomatoes?

REALLY? THAT MANY PEOPLE hate this movie? Come on, did two-thirds of the audience seriously not take a hint and just try to enjoy it for what it is? The movie features a pirate baseball game where someone gets shot for stealing second base! Can't you just appreciate that!?



There are a fair number of annoying scenes, Peter scolding his kids comes off as awkward, and the third act hits a massive pocket of DEAD when Peter remembers his past and Tinkerbell comes onto him creating this extraordinarily alienating 4-way romance where...

Tinkerbell loves Peter... who loved Wendy... who loves Peter... but Wendy grew old... so Peter instantly falls in love with Wendy's daughter Moira while she's sleeping... which is just ****in' weird.

THAT PART of the movie sucks. BIG TIME.

But, for me at least, I really do go for it's message of growth. It's not simply that it sucks to grow up and anyone who grows up becomes a pirate equivalent, it's just that it's important not to let go of that childish wonder and never to forget what it is that makes you happy, as being a father is to Peter.

It can be easy to forget why you put your nose to the grindstone everyday when your kids are causing trouble, it's just gonna happen and one of the worst things you can do is forget what it was like to be them.

Ironically despite Spielberg defending the movie, he's since gone on to say he dislikes it, even saying if he could have he'd have done it all on a digital stage. Damn, not even Spielberg remembers what it was all about.

Beyond all that, I just think it's a fun movie. There's some really funny and memorable scenes and John Williams' score is naturally excellent.

It's one of those "to be a kid again" movies like The Goonies. It doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense, but it's a ride nonetheless.


Final Verdict:
[Pretty Good]