Steven Spielberg’s Forgotten Masterpiece: Why ‘Hook’ Deserves More Love
In this rephrased version, Peter Banning, played by Robin Williams, is a corporate attorney whose children Jack (Charlie Korsmo) and Maggie (Amber Scott) are abducted by the malicious Captain James Hook (Dustin Hoffman) and transported to Neverland. With Tinkerbell’s (Julia Roberts) assistance, Peter uncovers that he is the real Peter Pan, a character he once thought was merely a myth, and ventures to Neverland to save his children. Upon its release, Hook received mixed reviews, with even director Steven Spielberg expressing dissatisfaction with his work on it. However, I believe that Hook is one of the best works from both Spielberg and Robin Williams’ careers, and the movie’s polarized reception and more recent cult following exemplify a classic instance of poor critical appraisal.