1991's HOOK (C+) asks the question, "What would happen if Peter Pan ever grew up?" and forms the key idea behind Steven Spielberg's 1991 family film re-envisioning of the timeless J. M. Barrie story of Peter Pan. The film received generally poor reviews and somewhat disappointing box office receipts but had its share of pop culture impact. Robin Williams plays the grown-up Peter Pan who has become a lawyer specializing in company takeovers (a modern-day pirate see) and although he has a family just doesn't have time in his busy work schedule to play with them. Captain James Hook, still wanting revenge on Peter Pan, travels to the real world, steals Peter's kids, and forces him to return to Neverland and get them back. The idea is interesting, but the majority of the critiques are valid here (even Spielberg has admitted it never quite really worked) and they are easy to spot some thirty-two years later. First, the way the film is structured, it feels like it is always setting something up or flashing back; it takes way too long to get to the good stuff. I think it was a real mistake for them to make it such a long ordeal for Robin William's Peter to finally realize he is the Pan because his lawyer character of Peter Banning is flat and boring to watch; it puts Robin Williams into a straight jacket for most of the film. Since this is a follow-up to the classic Peter Pan story, Williams is also hamstrung by having to re-explain everything. The flashback when he remembers his mom and has to convince the audience that he ran away as a baby is just ridiculous. Second, the idea of Captain Hook trying to become father to Pan's boy Jack is interesting on paper but it doesn't ever become a fun/engaging aspect of the story. Who wants to watch Hook try and brainwash a young boy for half a movie? We want adventuring! There's a nice moment when Pan has that "divorced Dad" jealousy thing in the ballpark sequence, but otherwise there's a lot of setup and not a lot of payoff here that isn't cheesy or forces. Third, Julia Roberts is miscast as Tinkerbell and the entire storyline of her loving Pan, being jealous, and becoming big to have a real kiss with Pan just doesn't seem to work. Lastly, although the art direction and physical sets are incredible, they seem shot in a way that always makes them look like an artificial set. It feels like an elaborate Disneyland section that they filmed on rather than a real genuine location. I think if this film had a come even a few years later it would have benefited from even a light bit of CGI background use. All of those complaints aside, whenever the movie goes all in on John William's incredible score and the creative/imagination aspects (the art direction, the Lost Boys base, the imagination dinner, and the final battle between the kids) it works pretty well. My favorite sequence is when Pan finally remembers how to fly and we get shots of him above Neverland in the clouds with the full Williams suite (check it out on the link) playing behind him followed by swooping shots of Pan going in and out of the Lost Boys lair to their amazement. Finally, Rufio has a touching passing of the torch moment. It's the best moment in the movie and a template for what I think they could have focused on more and delivered a better film. The good parts however (including game performances from Bob Hoskins as Smee and Dustin Hoffman as Hook) just never congeal enough to save the film from being a bit of a failure in all.
Review of Hook
