Hook (1991)

Every month the app VUDU has free movies that you can watch, but the only catch is that it comes with advertisements. Those are the least of your worries because the selection is usually amazing and I found one that I have been meaning to see for 29 years now. The film I am talking about is the 1991 Steven Spielberg (Jaws) directed Hook which stars the late Robin Williams (Good Morning Vietnam) as Peter Banning, a lawyer known for closing deals between companies that merge. During a trip to England to see Granny Wendy (Maggie Smith), his children are kidnapped by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) and that is when he learns that he was Peter Pan at one time in his life, but he needs help remembering so that he can save his kids before it's too late. The film also stars Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) as Tinkerbell, Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) as Smee, Caroline Goodall (Schindler's List) as Moira, Charlie Korsmo (Can't Hardly Wait) as Jack, Amber Scott (American Experience) as Maggie, the late Laurel Cronin (A League Of Their Own) as Liza, Phil Collins (Buster) as Inspector Good, the late Arthur Malet (Halloween) as Tootles, Dante Basco (The Perfect Weapon) as Rufio, Raushan Hammond (Tales From The Crypt) as Thud Butt, and Jasen Fisher (The Witches) as Ace.

What can one say about the film that probably hasn't already been said? I mean Dustin Hoffman was masterful as the conceited and disillusioned Captain Hook. Every time he was on screen, he intrigued me to want to keep watching because he is an amazing actor.  One of the things I really enjoyed about the film was the idea they used in explaining how Robin's character was the grown up Peter Pan. He simply stopped believing and he grew up as a result of it and most of the memories of Neverland were erased from his memory because all he knew was his love for Moira. If you think about it, that was a brilliant idea because it was a different take on a classic story and I loved how everyone thinks they are made up stories by Granny Wendy who is really Wendy in the story. The only thing that was predictable was how Robin was a shitty dad who focuses way too much on his work that he ends up neglecting his kids and now he has to prove to them that he still loves them. WE have seen that part of the story so many times in the past, but it helps with this. The scenes with the Lost Boys were really good, the cinematography and sets were amazing and the writing was well done which is all that matters. Oh yeah, the acting was amazing all around, but one thing I was confused about at first was that you see Phil Collins in the beginning of the film as a cop, I thought at first that he was Smee in Neverland, but I was wrong. The film is awesome so go and check it out because I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.