A high-flying adventure from the magic of Steven Spielberg, Hook stars Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan and Dustin Hoffman as the infamous Captain Hook. Joining the fun is Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, Bob Hoskins as the pirate Smee, and Maggie Smith as Granny Wendy Darling, who must convince the middle-aged lawyer, Peter Banning, that he was once the legendary Peter Pan. And so the adventure begins anew, with Peter off to Neverland to save his two children from Captain Hook. Along the way, he rediscovers the power of imagination, of friendship, and of magic. A classic tale updated for children of all ages, Hook was nominated for five 1991 Academy Awards(r) including best visual effects.
I remember seeing this film in the theaters the first weekend and not being to thrilled by it. By the time it arrived on VHS and I watched the cassette at least 100 times you could say I was a fan of this guilty pleasure. Steven Spielberg does a masterful job starting the film with Peter Pan as a grown up in the real world and is now an overworked man who has no time for his family. Robin Williams in my opinion was a good choice for the role of Peter and once he remembers who is it is a real joy to see him be so into the role.
Dustin Hoffman portrayal of Captain is a real hoot and the best thing about he movie and there are some dark tones that he plays to perfection. The children who play Peter's son and the Lost Boys aren't caricatures but real people that you warm up to as the film plays. As for Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, I felt that had a few too many scenes but she did a fine job. The production values and set pieces are a real treat and John Williams musical score is another standout in a long career of masterpieces. Until I put the Blu-ray in my player the other night I had not watched Hook for about 5 years and it was great to see all my old favorites from years ago in this enchanting family film. 8.5/10
Hook arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer in the original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. This is stated to be a new remaster and it certainly shows. Colors were perfectly saturated with the lost boys colorful food fight being a highlight. Fine detail was very good and I could make out all the little details on Dustin Hoffman's costume for the film.
Black levels were superb with an inky richness to them. There were no signs of digital enhancement. I'm sure some viewers will notice instances of some softness in the image, but that was due director Steven Spielberg's stylistic choice when filming not the fault of this transfer. So in short if you haven't seen Hook in a few years you'll be surprised by how beautiful this presentation is. 9/10
Audio is provided by a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This is a real treat for fans of the film. Surrounds are used perfectly to create a sense of environment, especially aboard Captain Hooks ship. Dialogue was crisp and clean but I will say it was a bit low in the mix. LFE was deep and helped to add richness to John Williams musical score, which is the standout in this excellent presentation. 9/10
