Monday, October 5, 2015
Pan
12-year-old orphan Peter is spirited away to the magical world of Neverland, where he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny -- to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
'Sometimes, friends begin as enemies and enemies begin as friends', the narration says at the beginning. This is a good indicator that what you're getting into isn't your typical Neverland story.
Peter Pan is left as a baby at the doorstep of an orphanage in England. When he grows up, World War II is in full swing, with the blitz arriving at his doorstep. Meanwhile, orphans keep disappearing and Peter begins to learn the true identity of his mother.
What follows is an adventure to the famous Neverland, re-imagined for modern audiences with CGI creatures, pirates singing covers of Nirvana and the Ramones. There are tribesmen and mermaids too, among other fantastical things.
Hugh Jackman is the highlight of the film as the villainous Blackbeard, especially in a scene early on where he confronts Peter about his flying powers, and the legend that a boy will come to rise up against him "Have you come to kill me, Peter?" he says in a somber tone. He has a charm and menace about him that suits the role well, and makes his unique looking character all the more memorable.
Levi Miller as Peter Pan performs well, as does the rest of the cast, but I found Hook's portrayal by Garrett Hedlund to be grating and distracting to watch. Maybe it's the accent they gave him, the actor's performance, or the overt sincerity of the character - a character which acts completely different in the original story. I just couldn't see him becoming Captain Hook.
The love story between him and Princess Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) also seemed forced and underdeveloped; put in as an afterthought to break up all the action set pieces.
Speaking of action set pieces, there are a lot of them. For the most part, they're pretty good, like early on when Peter and Hook escape Blackbeard's mines. But near the end of the film, they seemed a bit extraneous and unnecessary, some scenes could have been shortened or cut out and it wouldn't have hurt the picture.
The final showdown between Peter and Blackbeard seemed a bit rushed, though, with Peter suddenly gaining magical powers, just for the convenience of the plot - it seemed to come out of nowhere.
Joe Wright knows how to make a beautiful looking movie, each scene comes alive with his distinct touch. The score composed by John Powell is equally enchanting as well.
"Pan" is a pretty watchable movie, let down by some flaws in writing and casting.