Hook - The way you (want to) remember it

Wait, you mean to tell me this ISN'T the original? The map with Hook's hand was trailer footage and not the real opening? Get out of town!

Tight is the best I can describe this edit. Every scene flows naturally and organically from one to the other, some cuts creating more powerful moments as a result of the lost content. Peter promising to be at his son's baseball game, and the next scene being him arriving at an empty baseball field hits way harder than an extended sequence would have. I like that the edit cuts out Hook's attack and keeps the audience guessing alongside Peter, keeping us in the dark for as long as possible before Tinker Bell confirms what we were beginning to suspect all along. The trims around many scenes keep the story focused, delivering smoother characters arcs across a shorter running time, to the point where it feels like it was a cut from Spielberg himself! I miss "I wish I had a dad... like you." but in the context of this edit, you're not bound to notice it's absence, as Rufio's arc is a little bit toned down from the original, which may be the only real mark against the edit narrative wise. The two deleted scenes were also integrated well, though the music was a touch loud during the first one (which honestly I wonder why that was cut, we learn the names of the other Lost Boys in there?!)

There is a leftover shot at 33:46 and a few awkward audio cuts as a result of the scenes being gone (along with a weird dip in the audio when Maggie is trying to take Hook's, erm, hook), but as far as I'm concerned the edit lives up to the title. It is the definitive version of Hook.

Wow, It was fast to watch, and good vibe that got, THIS should've been the official cut for it, really, it could've been a great sequel to 53's movie Peter Pan. I DEFINITETLY recommend this edit.

Would be difficult to believe that more than half an hour has been removed from this film, no loss at all of narrative coherence. Since I only saw it once (and at least fifteen years ago) just a few absences stuck out immediately, big Tinkerbell, the baseball game at the beginning and the "scarily lit shots when kids get kidnapped". I was surprised when my first reaction to the latter was of disappointment, I suppose that this particular sequence left a greater impression on a young me than I thought, but on reflection and comparison I think that it rather does give away a bit too much and dilute the suspense.

Otherwise this edit lives up to its title and was a nice revisit, only just realised that this film contains the embodiment of Prince Zuko while the 2004 live-action "proper" adaptation of Peter Pan (the one I grew up with) stars Admiral Zhao as Hook himself! The purist in me wonders though if there could be a way of altering Tinkerbell's statement about the way to Neverland back to "Second to the right and straight on till morning." (is it a coincidence that Star Trek VI from the same year features the same "incorrect" line?), never saw the Disney animated version this references and the modification from the original irrationally irks me!

Technically excellent, only issues I noticed were a couple of audio cuts (80 mins in, bookending the shot of Peter looking over the cliff where he says "I have a plan") sounding a little abrupt. Thank you lapis molari for sharing your work!

I live in a household divided on the subject of Hook, as I don't have the love for it that a lot of my generational cohort does (although weirdly, I remember liking the comic adaptation a lot), and my partner counts it as one of her favourite childhood films. Well, I came away really impressed by how coherent and streamlined lapis managed to make the character arcs in the film, although Julia Roberts' Tinkerbell gets shortchanged a bit, I'm OK with that as her crush on Peter was nonsensical and slightly off-putting anyway. Nevertheless, she does seem rather surplus to the film now. Anyway, Dustin Hoffman gets to shine as the good captain, Robin Williams is less pathetic and more just a beleaguered but likeable yuppie dad, and Bob Hoskins' Smee steals the show, as he should. The title sequence lifted from a trailer is a vast improvement as well.

And ultimately my ladyfriend, as expected by the title, found Hook every bit as good as she remembered -- if not better.

Enjoyed this edit greatly!

Lapis got rid of the bloat and some of the goofiness to the film. Like the daughters song, bloated baseball scenes, and the jealous tink subplot.

Only issue would be to let the Rufio death scene go the full length.

Excellent cut!