Review: Hook (1991)

Dude just said, “What tis happening?”, there is no way I can’t love this movie!

Screenplay By: James v. Hart & Malia Scotch Marmo
Directed By: Steven Spielberg

There’s no need for me to give an in-depth review of Steven Spielberg’s Hook, because it doesn’t warrant one. The film boils down to people either enjoying it and being taken by its whimsical storytelling or people who can’t get past all the sentimentality and logic gaps. I fall into the first category, but I am able to see why people would hate this film as has become the predominant view. I am a fan of fantasy tales, and Hook isn’t even a great fantasy tale, but it does bring enough fantasy elements to the table to make me happy.

Are there logic gaps all over the place in Hook? Is the acting pretty bad? Could whole scenes be completely removed from the film without it missing a beat? Is the story completely contrived and way too over the top? Is the film all over the place in terms of tone and message? Is it a giant sentimental sledgehammer? Am I asking way too many questions? The answer to all the questions above is a very loud yes! Hook is an extremely flawed film full of terrible and obvious mistakes all over the place. It is the type of film that can, and probably will, give people headaches.

At this point you must be asking yourself, how can he say he enjoyed this movie when he just ripped it to pieces? My answer is that for all its glaring faults I still enjoyed a lot of the humor and almost all of the fantasy elements. I know that I shouldn’t like Hook, it really isn’t a good movie, but for some reason it has always worked for me. I am taken in by a man rediscovering his childlike nature, by the fights, by the flying, by Captain Hook, by every fantasy element you can name in Hook. I find it hard not to like a film where a giant dead crocodile eats a man whole without ever swallowing!

Hook isn’t a film a lot of people will like, I know I am in the minority. As I said above, whether or not you like Hook depends on if you are willing to overlook all the flaws in favor of the fantasy. I was willing to do as such because of how taken I was with the fantasy. Maybe the case will be different for you, or maybe you have nostalgic feelings for Hook, either way I don’t see myself converting anyone to this film, and I don’t know if I want to.

Rating:

***

Cheers,
Bill