Hamilton is super aggressive, always taking chances and making spectacular/dangerous passes more than anyone (unless you count qualifying 24th in a front row car and boosting the stats by passing 20 much slower cars). He goes for victories and that gives him a reputation as "reckless" when in reality it's just the way to win in an inferior car. Most drivers would be happy with 5th in those cases but Hamilton would rather risk a few bumps and shunts making daring passes to get 3rd etc.
Hamilton is a beast - period. Diva and emotional, sure, but he's a fantastic driver and right there with Alonso for overall skill / speed. This has been the case since the beginning of his career and most other drivers acknowledge his skill. It's just that Mclaren was so bad for so long. Even then, when the car held together and the team didn't muck up the pit stops, he was often a race winner or on the podium.
ALSO - one key reason why Senna, Vettel, Michael Schumacher, and many other champions of the past did so well is because they worked with the whole team to build the perfect car for them. That's part of the job and the skillset that makes a successful racer, and nothing to discredit his skill as a driver.