Hook (1991)-- comeon guys, lighten up...

[FireCaptain4]

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/allposters/24/1800169924p.jpg

I just bought Hook on DVD today at a bargain bin and that's my inspiration for this thread.

I watched the hell outta this when I was a younger youngster. It was a favorite of my moms and it raging full of nostalgic value for me, but anyway, I understand that there is a lot of hate out there for this film. Some people refer to this as Spielberg's worst (is that supposed to be a bad thing?), but I'm actually not sure why they think this, where this is coming from, and what they think is so bad about it. Perhaps it's the nostalgia thing, but I can't really measure this film objectively. Also, I haven't watched it in a few years, so, I'll refresh myself with another viewing soon and see if my mind has changed.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on Hook? Is it as bad as people say it is? Worse? Or are you like me and find it charming and fun?

[NuclearMisfit]

Pretty awesome movie, this movie came out when I was in Elementary school and probably one of my favorite versions of Peter Pan out there, As well as one of my favorite childhood movies.

Pretty swell cast, awesome plot = 10/10

[ScaryFreak1827]

I love Hook and it's been one of my favorites since I was just a wee little lad:D It's probably the best and most entertaining adaptation of the Peter Pan tale I've ever seen and John Williams score is the icing on the cake. It's an incredibly fun film and I agree that it's unfairly overlooked/hated. Rufio is the man!

[NuclearMisfit]

RUFIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH

[echo_bravo]

Rufio! Rufio! RU FI OOOOOOO!!!!

Awesome film. Loved the hell out of it when I was younger. Havent seen it in forever but I remember it was entertaining as hell.

[rh123]

I like this film. Im only 17 years old but I really do like this film and I don't think it is bad at all.

[SkyNet]

i love this flick... it may get shit on by some.. but it is just so entertaining and it's a kids movie!

i just wish a suitable special edition would be released one of these days!

[Art Vandelay]

Great thread. This movie is a total childhood classic, and I don't get the hate for it at all. It's a family epic, as I like to say. Flat out popcorn. <3 this thing.

[athf1980]

it's a good family movie.

[Smiert Spionam]

Hook is one of the most well-made, fun, and smartest family films you could ever watch (not to mention the great cast of Williams, Hoffman, & Hoskins). Though recently, I can't really seem to get through it anymore without getting a little teary eyed as I realize that my childhood dream of being a Lost Boy will never come to fruition... :(

8.5/10

[Potzer! 37]

Man I love this movie...some of the best random quotes ever:

"It's Snowing!"

"I am a lawyer"--"KILL THE LAWYER"--"I'm not that kind of lawyer."

Wonderful film, wonderful score and a great ending...I thought the flying effects worked really well too...I'll never understand anyone who does't enjoy this flick at least a little.

[LordSimen]

I love, love, love Hook. It's one of the more perfect children's movies I remember from my child hood. It's just awesome. I remember when I watched it again for the first time since I was a kid and had no idea Dustin Hoffman was in it. It was quite a shocker.

[spacemonkey]

I enjoyed it as well. Though Ill admit I was always a bit dissapointed that it wasnt a straight up adaptation of the books. I wanted to see that pirate ship sail through the skies!

Still, for what it is, which is really, Spilberg and Robin Williams visiting neverland, its not a bad film. Its budget is visibly huge, I love the sets, the wardrobe. And always found it a little weird for Robin Williams to be Peter Pan, I always thought he was too fat and too hairy to play Pan. But anyways, you kind of get used to it.

Also, the movie is just filled with sweet happy glowing moments, that they get to be just a bit too much sometimes. Its one of those overtly sentimental movies that Spilberg is known for making. But not a bad film at all. A childhood favorite of mine.

[adamjohnson]

I also love that Spielberg totally bitchslaps Julia Roberts during production after she demands her role be made larger.

[bigred760]

I also love this movie. Obviously it is not Spielberg's best, but it's still a very fun, enjoyable movie to watch. It's a fun family film, Robin Williams is great, Dustin Hoffman is simply AWESOME as Capt. Hook, and even Bob Hoskins turns in a good performance as the sidekick Smee. It's got plenty of laughs ("DADDY! DADDY! Daddy?" . . . I crack up everytime I hear the little girl's reaction to seeing her dad sword fight.), a good story, and is good family fun.

[AlteredEffect]

I've been "hooked" by this film since I was a kid. Even now it still stands the test of time. I'll never understand why this has so much flack around it. Sure it was supposed to be a musical (thank god it wasn't). Yeah, it was a kids movie... But damn is it magical. Spielberg, cast and crew did amazing job. And let's just say William's original score is my all time favorite.

This ones held high on my pedestal.

10/10

[Beard_of_Meat]

Hook was always one of my favorite Peter Pan movies and the only thing Peter Pan related I liked more was the old Fox cartoon Peter Pan and the Pirates which starred Tim Curry as Captain Hook...As a matter of fact me and my friends had a pirate themed joke hardcore/grind/metal band called Hook which actually had a fairly huge underground following in the Chicago music scene

[FireCaptain4]

Awesome! It's great to hear that so many people are in love with this movie. I've been watching it "off and on" all day and, man, great memories are coming back in a hailstorm. Like Smiert Spionam, I almost tear up watching it. A roommate of mine told me he has never heard of it and we're planning on watching Hook after Battlestar Galactica this Friday.

[poopontheshoes7]

Add me to the list of Hook lovers. I never knew it was so hated by people until the internet.

I still dont get the hate either. Its an awesome movie. Great characters, wonderful imagination, and Hoffman kicking ass as Captain Hook.

8/10

[Cronos]

I love Hook, it's one of those films I've seen numerous times over the years and it never fails to entertain me, it's got some nice ideas and many moments that always make me laugh. While it doesn't come close to being one of Spielberg's best, it's still a really fun film.
8/10

[Frosty_86]

I love this movie. I couldnt tell you how many times I watched it as a kid. I never realized people hated on it so much because it's such a fun movie.

[BlownCamaro]

Loved it as a kid when it came out, a little on the boring side now but still a good movie over all. Maybe a 7/10 or 8/10.

[overwatch]

It's a great movie, I watch it whenever I get the chance. It's got some great images in it, I love it when Peter is thrown in the water and the mermaids give him mouth to mouth. Fantastic adventure this movie.

[sarah1980]

a great childhood favourite for me :D

[The Postmaster General]

I saw it at least twice in the theaters as a kid. It seems like I remember it being a holiday movie, which was always a great time for me to catch repeat theater viewings. The story was really unique, a grown up Peter Pan, and I remember it being a lot of fun. Now, I haven't seen it since it aired, maybe once when it first hit VHS, so I can't say I remember a great deal of it, but again - it wasn't like I went back to see it again just because there was nothing else out there to see, I never did that.

The one thing I remember the most was the guy who lost his marbles, and the character of Rufio. That was a lot of fun. I also remember the theater having a good time, lots of laughing and some cheers. The costumes and sets were really cool, if not a bit too obvious - I remember it being up for and maybe winning some Oscars. Robin Williams kicked all sorts of butt during the era when that was all he was doing starting with Good Morning Vietnam, then Awakenings, Dead Poets Society, The Fisher King. The guy was always fun to watch in either dramatic (Garp, Moscow on the Hudson) to the zany, but was clearly finding more of niche in the sort of seriocomic type roles (The Fisher King maybe the best of both worlds). Then of course Dustin Hoffman was totally hamming it up in the best way possible looking like someone who'd blow clove smoke in your face at a drag club.

I do remember the movie having something of a dry, sort of serious tone to it, which might be what the detractors didn't like about it. Neverland looked kind of like something out of Mad Max, and in some ways it might have been the film itself that needed to lighten up. There were a lot of those elements you saw in movies like the father reconnecting with the children and learning to love his family more than his work. I remember something of a cell phone being tossed out the window, or something. It was one of those movies that was a backlash against the yuppie generation that had forgotten the fun it was born from. Even still, I remember it seeming to work for me.

I'd probably need to give it another shot, but just based on my repeated viewings, and having some minor parts stick out like they did, count me in as giving props to this film. At the same time, looking back I can probably see why many were disappointed, because it wasn't a magical story like Peter Pan, but more of a self-realization piece, sort of brining Peter into the real world, which I seem to remember being the point. It was marketed as Peter Pan having grown up, so I'm not really sure what people expected. I clearly don't remember anyone I knew who saw it, young or old, calling it a dud of any sort. As far as Spielberg's worst, maybe at the time, but he went on to do worse.

[WeX 11788]

I loved this movie as a kid, and I love it now. I don't know why it was so hated on, I thought the screenplay was great and for obvious reasons the acting was on point.


I vividly remember seeing this in theatres as a kid, and I was only about 4 years old. That's pretty crazy when you think about it. peace.