AllMovie

The documentary Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell tells a familiar story of shattered dreams and squandered opportunity. In examining the tragic life path of Demetrius Mitchell, the filmmakers offer disappointingly little context for their story. This exacerbates what could have been minor problems with chronology. Mitchell is shown at one prison, where he has a mentor, and seems to be relatively content. Later, he's shown at another prison, where he seems much less happy. But the filmmakers never indicate why Mitchell was transferred, and they continue to cut back to scenes of him playing basketball at the first prison. In addition, it's never really clear whether Mitchell's skill at basketball exacerbated his problems with drugs and crime, or if, like his drug use, basketball offered an escape from the harsh reality of his life. We've heard enough about cases like this that we know that Mitchell's case is just one of many, no matter how good he was. Hooked is a serviceable sports documentary, but by failing to provide a broader picture by putting Mitchell's experience in context, the filmmakers actually make his story seem less important than it is.