Hook - The way you (want to) remember it

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.

This is a very nice trimming of the classic children's Spielberg movie. Some 'director's indulgence' has been removed and what remains tells the story in a straightforward and unintrusive manner. The new introduction to the movie is much more inspired than the original--although the deleted scenes are somewhat obvious (particularly the first).

I would argue that some of the character of the movie has been excised with the editor's chosen cuts; nevertheless, all the chosen edits were skillfully handled and they flow nicely. I also appreciate that the creepy lighting/kidnapping scenes were trimmed, especially for younger viewers. I am mixed about any of Robin Williams' scenes being cut but *not* sorry about losing the 'big Tink' scene in the slightest, ha.

In summary, this edit is a good choice if you want a tight, condensed version of the film with less 'cringe'.

So this film will be forever flawed, as a kid i didnt care much for it. When i revisited it as a 30 something with my ex, i noticed the majority of the problem was it takes forever to get the Neverland. This edit fixed that, it's still slow to start but that has been remedied as much as possible with this, the definitive edit!

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.