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Post by Nora on Feb 4, 2018 3:36:51 GMT
I saw Hook as a kid first (who didnt, right?) and never on the big screen. Today was my first time seeing it in the cinema. And I loved it. Could it be a bit shorter? Yes. Especially some of the set up in the beginning and the explaining in the end could have been edited out. But other than that? I really really enjoyed it and it resonated with me emotionally and I liked everybody's acting and the visual effects? for that time? awesome! Same with costumes and music. No wonder it got Oscar nominated.
but both critics and fan reviews give it a MUCH lower rating than I would give it. So I am curious as what other people on here think. Have you seen in adulthood? What did you think?
It also made me "miss" Robin Williams that much more. Think of all the roles he could have given this world. he was great as Peter Pan. But so was Hoffman as a gay narcissistic Hook. I found that character very interesting. And Maggie Smith? Just marvelous on screen presence as always.
Why do people seem not to like the movie though?
PS - fixed the article in front of the movie title. Articles before nouns. Will never get it completely I guess. My language doesn't have those :-)
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Post by moviemouth on Feb 4, 2018 5:01:55 GMT
Hook is well meaning and very well made from a technical standpoint but also bloated and silly.
Overall I like the film, but it is one of Spielberg's weaker efforts.
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Reynard
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Post by Reynard on Feb 4, 2018 14:14:36 GMT
I didn't really like Hook as a kid, but after watching it late last year I though it was great. Some of the greatest 90s set designs and cinematography. Yes, the film is a bit too long and sometimes a bit too silly too, though I get that being childish is a large part of Peter Pan story. Robin Williams was ok but I've never liked him. Hoffman gave one of the best performances ever and Hook is easily his film. Spielberg's directing is very classy, full of subtle but very interesting choices with dissolves and such. Most movies for younger audiences are written and directed without much artistic quality, most likely because "kids don't pay attention to such things anyway", which is sad. Spielberg's are always an exception to that rule and that alone would lift Hook above average. I also liked Hook's more psychological themes, though they are not as fully developed as one could hope. 8/10 seems fair.
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Post by Popeye Doyle on Feb 4, 2018 14:28:47 GMT
Spielberg has daddy issues. We get it. |
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Post by Terrapin Station on Feb 4, 2018 14:32:12 GMT
Same here re liking it more when I watched it recently than when it came out.
One of its hurdles is that there's kind of a "stagey" vibe to it--a bit like you're watching a play rather than a film. Another way to say that is that there's kind of a stylized artifice to it that's not the easiest mode to sink into or feel intimate with as an audience member.
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Reynard
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Post by Reynard on Feb 4, 2018 15:18:23 GMT
Same here re liking it more when I watched it recently than when it came out. One of its hurdles is that there's kind of a "stagey" vibe to it--a bit like you're watching a play rather than a film. Another way to say that is that there's kind of a stylized artifice to it that's not the easiest mode to sink into or feel intimate with as an audience member. Well said. It's easy to see how Neverland's stylized look isn't going to work for everyone, though it didn't bother be personally when rewatching since I often enjoy obvious studio sets if they look good and/or serve the story somehow, and anyway I quickly got interested in Hook's psychological subtext. Things that the characters say, do, background details and so forth, during the first 40 minutes or so, the "realistic" modern day part, all are later revisited one way or another during the Neverland sequence. There's a lot of "mirroring" between the two worlds going on, not to mention intentional anachronisms, such as Lost Boys' skateboards and the graffiti in their hideout. "The real world" and "Neverland" are always relative, one blends into another, they are more like states of mind. At least that's what I got out of it. From that point of view Neverland not feeling "real" and more like big budget children's school play is actually quite fascinating. Anyway, I was reading Hook's Wikipedia page just a moment ago and it seems that Spielberg himself isn't really happy with Neverland's stylized look. His claim that it would have been better with digital sets is terrible, though. |
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Post by Marv on Feb 4, 2018 15:24:52 GMT
I love hook but i was 7 when it came out so i was its target audience.
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Post by politicidal on Feb 4, 2018 15:41:40 GMT
I liked it too. I think expectations were very high considering Spielberg was at the helm (which is fair).
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2018 15:51:43 GMT
I liked Hook and still do . (Certainly superior to Joe Wright's god awful PAN that came out a few years ago)
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Post by Nora on Feb 4, 2018 19:08:10 GMT
I didn't really like Hook as a kid, but after watching it late last year I though it was great. Some of the greatest 90s set designs and cinematography. Yes, the film is a bit too long and sometimes a bit too silly too, though I get that being childish is a large part of Peter Pan story. Robin Williams was ok but I've never liked him. Hoffman gave one of the best performances ever and Hook is easily his film. Spielberg's directing is very classy, full of subtle but very interesting choices with dissolves and such. Most movies for younger audiences are written and directed without much artistic quality, most likely because "kids don't pay attention to such things anyway", which is sad. Spielberg's are always an exception to that rule and that alone would lift Hook above average. I also liked Hook's more psychological themes, though they are not as fully developed as one could hope. 8/10 seems fair. agreed on all plus I really enjoyed Williams in it too. I read that Carrie Fisher did a lot of the final rewrites. I wonder which scenes/dialogues were heres. I particularly enjoyed the idea with making Jack like Hook as the ideal revenge. It would be. |
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Post by CoolJGS☺ on Feb 4, 2018 19:17:34 GMT
I think it was fine for kids and doesn't hold up as the viewer ages out of it.
I think the story was flawed from the start as it tried to take an adult them and make it kiddy.
The story would have been infinitely better if Peter aligned in one way or another with Hook or flatout an enemy that handles him as an adult would and his kid plays a significant role in the movie in dealing with that conflict.
Spielberg rarely likes to show fathers in a bad light though unless it's something that is easy to fix.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Feb 4, 2018 19:23:46 GMT
Hans Conried casts a long shadow and Hoffman simply cannot come close to that.
I thought the kid portraying the young Peter Pan was a good choice from the brief scene he had--if it had been a live action PP it may have been worked better-but doing the standard man with mid-life crisis issues. Ehh.
Also, the crocodile was a lamely used prop.
I remember cringing at the "you can crow" scenes.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2018 20:09:40 GMT
'the' Hook, lol.
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ravi02
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Post by ravi02 on Feb 4, 2018 20:52:41 GMT
A few things:
1.) It's too damn long. At nearly 2 1/2 hours, this supposedly light and breezy story just drags.
2.) I loved Robin Williams, but he comes across as bland in this.
3.) Didn't care for the stuff with the Lost Boys and their early 90's Nerf guns.
Hook has some enjoyable things about it: Hoffman and Hoskins and the score. Overall though, it's a mediocre film and one of Spielberg's lesser films.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Feb 4, 2018 23:00:57 GMT
Rewatched this at Christmas 2016. I knew a girl who went to see it everyday for a week when it first came out, she told me this while I was watching it for the first time. It has it's admirers. Neverland was just some film set in a studio, if only they'd taken the cameras outside, on the ocean. But I think Spielberg is afraid Jaws will get him if he ever goes back on the ocean.  |
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Post by THawk on Feb 4, 2018 23:14:52 GMT
It remains one of my favorite movies of all time, one of Spielberg and Williams' very best. It is an eternal mystery to me the dislike the film has received. For me it is one of the most heartfelt, magical, touching wonders cinema has ever produced. I suppose yeah, it is a bit cooky...but this is what Peter Pan has always been about.
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Post by Nora on Feb 5, 2018 0:54:15 GMT
I both liked the set and also wished they took it outside..
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Post by Nora on Feb 5, 2018 0:55:37 GMT
A few things: 1.) It's too damn long. At nearly 2 1/2 hours, this supposedly light and breezy story just drags. 2.) I loved Robin Williams, but he comes across as bland in this. 3.) Didn't care for the stuff with the Lost Boys and their early 90's Nerf guns. Hook has some enjoyable things about it: Hoffman and Hoskins and the score. Overall though, it's a mediocre film and one of Spielberg's lesser films. 1. agreed 2. compared to his other work, maybe... but still pretty good. 3. yeah that was maybe a part of it |
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Post by anthonyrocks on Feb 5, 2018 0:58:25 GMT
I actually liked "HOOK".
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Post by Nora on Feb 5, 2018 2:57:23 GMT
glad to see so many Hook fans. If nothing else, its a great way to see Robin Williams in an unusual role, and also see two pirates being portrayed by two amazing actors who apparently openly decided to play the role gay. While I didnt get that as a kid, I do appreciate that now, seeing it as an adult. If Hook wasnt supposed to be the villain I would totally ship Smee and Hook as an adorable (albeit unhealthy) couple.
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