1159. Hook (1991)

Starring: Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts

Director: Steven Spielberg

Running Time: 142 mins

Hook is an American film about Peter Pan, years after his adventures in Neverland with Wendy and the Lost Boys, who, now all grown up, is forced to return to Neverland to save his own children from the villainous Captain Hook, and rediscover the magical person he once was.

You’d think that seeing a childhood hero like Peter Pan all grown up and now more bothered about health and safety than adventure would be extremely depressing, but Hook proves that theory completely wrong. With a wonderful sense of fun, strong performances across the board and beautiful direction by no less than Spielberg, Hook is a very entertaining family adventure.

The film is a family fantasy comedy, and as such, it has a very light-hearted atmosphere. That’s not a problem at all in this film, however, because it’s based off of a classic family fairytale, and its easy-going and very upbeat nature feels extremely appropriate to the story it’s trying to tell, so what you get is an entire movie that’s both not a challenge to watch, and is really enjoyable too.

The performances by the A-list cast are all fantastic as well. I didn’t think it was Robin Williams’ most delightful performance, but that’s because his character is a normal middle-aged man for most of the film, but once he gets into his stride, I thought he was as funny as ever. Meanwhile, Dustin Hoffman, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith all put in a good show to add to the fun of the adventure, as does Julia Roberts in an earlier role as Tinkerbell. She may only be a supporting player in the film, but she’s actually one of the funniest and most entertaining to watch by far, pulling off the character really well in my opinion.

Also, Steven Spielberg’s directing is fantastic. The entire world of Neverland looks fantastic, and the way that he replicates various scenes directly from the original book and Disney film was a really lovely little touch that adds to the wonderful atmosphere of it all.

The only issue that I do have with this film is that it’s a little bit long-winded. Yes, it’s an entertaining watch, but at 2 hours and 22 minutes, there are points where your attention does waver a little. The first act before they get to Neverland lasts over 40 minutes, and I just didn’t find it exciting enough to be justified.

Overall, however, Hook is still a massively enjoyable and pleasant family adventure, with great performance and a wonderful look to it that makes you want to smile right the way through, and that’s why it gets a 7.7 from me.