TheRetroCritic

Few films captured my imagination quite as much as Hook  did back in the day. It was a live-action Peter Pan which was decidedly kid-friendly and crazily whimsical yet it felt more grown-up somehow. Even as a kid, I vastly preferred it to the animated Disney flick and... ...it almost made me believe in Julia Roberts fairies. Damn you Spielberg, you lying genius. Re-watching it now, some of the film's whimsy is sadly lost on natural cynicism and busy kid-full scenes have become kinda exhausting to watch. Hook's cheesier moments like the little girl randomly singing or the whole let's-touch-Robin Williams'-face scene have become a tad distracting rather than just instantly charming and yet the film still mostly works if you're willing to buy into it. Spielberg's NeverLand is brought to life beautifully. A surreal world full of crude pirates, sword-wielding children, sexy mermaids, hungry crocodiles and several moons, it's simply an enchanting, perfec