With a filmography as vast as Steven Spielberg’s, everyone will have a different opinion on his most underrated film, and even though the director himself isn’t too fond of it, I believe it is Hook. As a sequel to J. M. Barrie’s novel Peter and Wendy, Hook reimagined the mythos of Peter Pan in modern day and starred Robin Williams as a grown-up version of the fantasy hero. With Dustin Hoffman in the villainous role of Captain Hook, this 1991 adventure’s star-studded cast lived up to the lofty expectations set by previous Spielberg children’s classics like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Hook was one of Spielberg’s most ambitious and unique releases as he sought to depict the imaginary faraway place known as Neverland as it had never been seen on screen before. As a live-action exploration of the man previously known as the boy who wouldn’t grow up, on paper, Hook looked like the ideal project for Spielberg’s unique talents. Despite being a cult classic that has countless supporters around the world, one person who doesn’t agree that Hook was Spielberg’s most underrated film was Steven Spielberg himself.

Why Steven Spielberg Doesn’t Like Hook

Spielberg Wasn’t Confident In The Material

While Hook was an imaginative fantasy that brought to mind much of the same appeal as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurᴀssic Park, Spielberg himself was not very proud of the movie. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2011, Spielberg spoke candidly about his issues with the film, and although he said, “There are parts of Hook I love,” he clearly has mixed feelings about the project.

Spielberg said he was proud of the early parts of Hook, right up until Peter was hauled off in the parachute out the window, and following this, he was “uncomfortable” with the Neverland sequences. Spielberg tried to capture the highly stylized world of Neverland through the production of physical sets and claims that if he could go back in and redo Hook, “I would probably have done with live-action character work inside a completely digital set.”

Speaking again about his frustrations with Empire in 2018 (via Den of Geek), Spielberg went into more detail and claimed he didn’t have confidence in the script and felt like “a fish out of water” making the movie. While he was happy with the first act and the epilogue, he said he didn’t have confidence in the middle act and “I didn’t quite know what I was doing.” Rather than have faith in the material, Spielberg lamented that “I tried to paint over my insecurity with production value,” and the more insecure he felt, the “more colorful the sets became.”

Spielberg Actually Does A Great Job With Neverland In Hook

The Neverland Sequences Are A Highlight Of Hook

It’s interesting that most of Spielberg’s frustrations with Hook were related to Neverland, when those sequences are exactly the reason many hold the film near and dear to their hearts today. As a richly imaginative world that’s characterized by a real sense of marvel and imagination, the fact that Neverland consisted of physical sets helped the movie feel so wondrous and stand apart from the CGI-heavy style of so many modern family-friendly movies.

While Hook’s stylistic presentation may have been born out of insecurity, this tale of pirates, fairies, and childlike wonder has so much going for it and was a firm example that nobody can do nostalgia quite like Spielberg. Williams gave a typically committed performance as Peter, and watching his interactions with the band of misfit children known as the Lost Boys was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the entire film.

Although Hook may look a bit dated due to the limitations in technology at the time, it more than made up for this with impressive production design and a keen eye for detail. While Spielberg was quietly struggling throughout the production and attempting to mask his insecurity with increasingly bombastic visuals, from the perspective of a child viewer, this was part of what made Hook such a spectacle to witness.

Hook Is One Of The Best Peter Pan Adaptations

Spielberg Added New Depth To The Mythos Of Peter Pan

When all is said and done, the truth is that Hook stands as one of the best Peter Pan adaptations out there. As a story that has been endlessly retold and rebooted, few depictions can live up to the poignant power of Barrie’s original story or the iconic Disney animated theatrical version. With Hook, Spielberg effectively added to the lore of Peter Pan to tell a new story that dealt with the liminal space between childhood and adulthood in a way that connected with countless viewers around the world.

Hook strikes the perfect balance of emotion and sentimentality and gets to the heart of what this story about a boy who never grows up was really about. By having Williams’ Peter return to Neverland to rediscover his childlike sense of wonder, Hook reminded us all not to let our curiosity disappear and to embrace the positive side of our juvenile impulses. Add to this Dustin Hoffman’s fantastic performance as Captain Hook, and the film stands as one of Spielberg’s most underrated movies.

Spielberg Hasn’t Really Made A Movie Like Hook Since

Hook Was The End Of An Era For Spielberg

Another reason that Hook was Spielberg’s most underrated movie was that he hasn’t made anything quite like it since. While this is probably because he simply doesn’t want to, this is a real shame, as he tapped into something quite special with this movie that makes it unique in his filmography. As a filmmaker, Spielberg’s career can be separated into two distinct categories, with early films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial being told from the perspective of a child and later movies seeing the world through the lens of fatherhood.

The transition between these two eras first began with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and came to full fruition with Hook. Since first becoming a father in 1985, up to the release of Hook, Spielberg’s style shifted to a more mature kind of filmmaking, leading to war movies like Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. While this more mature version of Spielberg did result in some of his very best movies, I can’t help but miss the playful sense of wonder at the heart of Hook and wish Spielberg could see the movie for the classic that it is.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, Den of Geek