Steven Spielberg’s 1991 adventure film Hook starring Robin Williams has been praised as “one of the greatest childhood films ever made”
A classic film hailed as a “masterpiece” by audiences is showing today.
Boasting a truly impressive cast, led by the late Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Dame Maggie Smith and Bob Hoskins, Hook mesmerised audiences when it first premiered in 1991.
The film, helmed by Steven Spielberg, follows the famous Captain James Hook as he abducts Peter’s children, forcing the now adult lawyer (Robin), who has forgotten all recollection of his past, to return to Neverland and the Lost Boys to reclaim his youthful essence and confront his former enemy.
Roberts led the cast as Peter Pan, Bob played the part of Smee, while Dame Maggie gave a profoundly touching portrayal as Granny Wendy, following her childhood adventures with Peter.
The cast also featured music legend Phil Collins, Caroline Goodall and Dante Basco as the beloved Rufio, leader of the Lost Boys, reports the Mirror.
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Surprisingly, upon its debut, Hook struggled to win over (adult) reviewers and received a 29% score from professional critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Reviewers pointed to its unevenness and “terrible child roles”, yet audiences score it almost 50% higher, at 76%. Numerous devotees have condemned the programme’s poor rating, maintaining that the beloved film is a “masterpiece.”
One audience member posted on Reddit: “I think the critic rating was abysmally wrong. Imo this movie is a masterpiece. I think Spielberg hated it because it hits too close to home.
“Sometimes as artists we make things that we don’t understand or embrace until much later, where unintended meaning slips through.”
They went on: “His biggest complaint and his thoughts on changing it – adding green screen/mocap – are wild to read about when to me the overt set reinforces the hallucination/dream framing of the entire movie. Hook with a green screen would be terrible.”
Another remarked: “I was well into my twenties before I even realized that this movie was widely disliked. It was always a classic in my mind, and still is.”
A third viewer praised on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, “This is truly one of the greatest childhood movies. I just introduced my 4and5 year-old to this movie this evening and they were engrossed from the second it started.
“even cried a few times with pure happiness for the memories it brought back,.”
Another said it was ‘the best childhood film of all time’. One insisted: “Hook is a masterpiece of film. There is nothing more to say. It’s perfect,”
Meanwhile another fans added: “This defined my childhood. I was completely enthralled by this movie. I watched it for the first time in 25 years this past weekend and it was just as perfect as it was then.”
Hook airs on Channel 5 at 2.45pm on Saturday, May 2
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