'Pan', the latest Peter Pan film starring Levi Miller, Rooney Mara, Garrett Hedlund, and Hugh Jackman, and directed by Joe Wright, is a major letdown for someone like myself who is a long time fan of this beloved character.
Told as a prequel to Scottish author J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan" story, which was first staged in 1904 before being turned into a novel, ‘Pan' introduces audiences to the origins of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and many of the secrets involved in the enchanting world of Neverland.
While the film has its moments of amusement and excitement, overall I felt it to be rushed, unimpressive from a special effect and set design standpoint, and frankly not the movie I hoped for, given the budget, cast, and other source material. While it is a bit playful, cheesy and unsatisfying for my tastes, perhaps younger audiences who don't know any better can find some pleasure in the experience it presents.
The film begins with a young mischievous orphan named Peter (Miller), who is living in the real world. When he begins to investigate the suspicious disappearance of other children in his orphanage, he is abducted in the middle of the night by pirates on flying ships and whisked away to an unknown land.
Peter quickly finds himself working for the pirates, mining pixie dust, and he soon becomes friends with a young man by the name of James Hook (Hedlund). In search of his mother who he believes to be somewhere in Neverland, Peter learns of a prophecy about a boy who can fly and is destined to fight back against the pirates and their leader, Blackbeard (Jackman).
In this movie, we see the makings of the hero known as Peter Pan that many of us know today. We come to understand where he comes from, his complicated relationship with Hook, and we get to see the journey he takes from orphan to leader. While extremely underutilized, one of the cool aspects of the film is getting a glimpse at other recognizable elements of Peter Pan, from crocodiles, to mermaids, Indians, fairy's, the lost boys, the Jolly Roger and more.
Hugh Jackman undoubtedly plays the most dramatic and eccentric role as the pirate Blackbeard, who dresses in funny looking, fancy English-looking pirate clothing, wears makeup and a wig, and inhales pixie dust to stop him from aging. He carries himself as if he was on stage, which plays to the theatrical like nature of the film itself. There's a bizarre scene where Blackbeard partakes in a sing-along with the other pirates of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Blitzkrieg bop" by The Ramones in borderline musical fashion.
Newcomer Levi Miller plays Peter Pan and gives as good of a performance as any. He's young, full of energy, and has the heart of a true believer. Amanda Seyfried has brief cameo appearances as Mary, Peter's mother, and similarly, English model/actress Cara Delevingne, plays a mermaid and is only seen for a matter of seconds. Other notable supporting cast includes Adeel Akhtar, an English actor who plays Sam Smiegel, or "Smee", and is featured as partial comedic relief.
American actress Rooney Mara plays Tiger Lily, who typically in the Peter Pan stories is a Native American. There has been a bit of controversy over this role as some are upset because this is one of the few roles for someone of a specific race and was ultimately given to a white American. Warner Bros. said in an interview that they never sought to cast a Native American, and director Wright mentioned he was trying to create a "very international and multi-racial" world. Some feel like natives or actors of certain color/descent are not given the same chances as others, and a petition was started for Warner Bros to no longer miscast these roles.
Everything in the film happens too fast, the scenery and set design often looks like that of a stage play or clearly fabricated, and the CGI appears to be mostly overused in the wrong areas. Most of the acting, while not always bad, is overly dramatic and very high energy, which here comes out too playful, light, or even laughable at times. I expected a few corny or cheesy moments, but not as many as I saw here. The story is very messy, and for me, there wasn't much payoff.
Don't get me wrong; ‘Pan' does have its magical and thrilling moments, and some of the special effects and other elements are more than acceptable, but when all is said and done, the film is a let down in my opinion when it could have been so much more. I looked forward to seeing this film, but it was much different than I expected. Throughout the viewing, as I left, and still now, the only thing I can think of is how disappointed I am with this misfire of a favorite classic story. Maybe I held this film to too high of standards, and hopefully audiences of younger ages and without expectations can enjoy it more than I did.
I do hope for more Peter Pan in the future, but only if the concept used for the film does not rob us of the pure magic that this mischievous lost boy, who first stole our hearts almost 100 years ago, brought to the screen.
2 out of 5 stars.
‘Pan' is rated PG for fantasy action violence, language and some thematic material. Running time is 1 hour and 51 minutes.
