Peter Pan grows up, gets married and forgets his past, turning into a fat boring corporate lawyer. He has two children but isn't a very good father, spending all his time on his work. During a visit to his Granny Wendy in London however, his past returns to haunt him when the villainous Captain Hook kidnaps the kids and holds them to ransom. Peter must return to Neverland, remember who he really is, and save his family.

Hook is a terrific riff on J.M. Barrie's classic fantasy Peter Pan. Suppose Peter grew up ? And suppose Hook came after him for revenge ? Then suppose Hook decided not to kill Peter but to steal his son's affections instead ? Thanks to a great script by James V. Hart, Nick Castle and Malia Scotch Marmo, this movie combines all the high-spirited fun and adventure of the original stageplay with a wonderfully bittersweet nostalgia on childhood lost and the joys of parenthood. This isn't really a film for kids; like Drop Dead Fred it's really a film for adults with lots of goofy childish moments. Williams is excellent as Peter Pan, transforming from blinkered, out-of-shape, scaredy-cat into fighting, flying, crowing boy-hero, the kids are all great, and Hoskins has a scene-stealing role as the gleefully light-fingered, self-preserving Smee. An unlikely best of all however is Hoffman - whose method overacting I can normally just about manage to stomach - who is dazzling as the swashbuckling, iniquitous Captain James Hook, complete with batty wig, wall-to-wall histrionics ("Don't try to stop me Smee !!", he bellows repeatedly, whilst faking a suicide attempt), a pathological fear of clocks and an accent you could curdle milk with. Hoffman extracts all the villainous comic potential possible from his performance, especially in a wonderfully wicked scene where he lectures the children on how much happier their parents were before they came along. Although not as acclaimed or as successful as many of his other movies, have no doubt - this is one of the extraordinarily gifted Spielberg's best films, and his talent shines through in every scene. Featuring fabulous sets for the Neverland locations, great flying effects and beautiful photography by Dean Cundey. My one gripe - the unnecessary romantic subplot with Tinkerbell, which adds nothing to the story and showcases far too much of the consistently awful Roberts. However, that cannot spoil what is a lovingly-made and ingenious fantasy, which gently reminds all adults what they once used to be. Good form !!