The Steven Spielberg Movie Even He Avoids Watching

Steven Spielberg has directed some of the most celebrated movies in cinema history, from Schindler’s List to Saving Private Ryan. But there’s one film he finds hard to watch: his 1991 children’s movie, Hook.

Hook stars Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan who has forgotten his childhood while living a busy life as a lawyer.

Dustin Hoffman plays the evil Captain Hook, who kidnaps Peter’s children, forcing him to return to Neverland.

Along the way, Peter rediscovers his past and regains his emotional maturity. The cast also includes Julia Roberts as Tinker Bell, Bob Hoskins as Mr. Smee, Maggie Smith as Granny Wendy, and Charlie Korsmo as Peter’s son, Jack Banning.

Despite its star-studded cast and strong production values, Hook was met with mixed reviews.

Critics praised Williams and Hoffman’s performances as well as John Williams’ musical score, but many felt the story and tone were uneven. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film failed to bring anything new to the Peter Pan story, while Peter Travers of Rolling Stone thought it mainly appealed to older audiences. Even so, Hook was a commercial success, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1991, and it has since developed a cult following.

Spielberg himself has admitted he struggles to watch the movie. During a 2012 interview with the Kermode & Mayo Film Review, he said, “I want to see Hook again. I still don’t like that movie. I’m hoping someday I’ll see it again and perhaps like some of it.”

In 2018, he spoke about his creative struggles while making the film, telling Empire, “I felt like a fish out of water making Hook. I didn’t have confidence in the script. I had confidence in the first act, and I had confidence in the epilogue. I didn’t have confidence in the body of it. I didn’t quite know what I was doing, and I tried to paint over my insecurity with production value, the more insecure I felt about it, the bigger and more colourful the sets became.”

Despite its criticisms, Hook has inspired future filmmakers. Director Jon M. Chu cited the movie as an influence for the visual style of his upcoming two-part adaptation of the musical Wicked.

Hook is an example of Spielberg taking a risk outside his comfort zone. Even if it wasn’t perfect, it still brought joy to audiences and influenced future projects. What do you think about Hook and Spielberg’s feelings toward it? Share your thoughts in the comments.