With many great features such as the wonderful Finding Neverland, the highly enjoyable Hook and the solid Disney version from 1953 and the live-action portrayal in 2003. The Pan film history is one worth watching.
Now we have director Joe Wright, who I have liked his previous work that includes his portrayal Pride & Prejudice and the brilliant Atonement.
His films are usually filmed with drama and wonder. So I was interested to see how we would portray the origins story to the boy that never grew up.
I was going in with slightly low expectations as the film was pushed back from originally being released in the summer, which is not usually a good sign. Also, there were negative reviews coming out from America.
With all that mind, I felt Pan will leave most fans disappointed. I definitely thought it was the weakest of the Peter Pan films. But it is not a complete disaster.
One thing I loved the most from it was the energy. It is definitely not holding back and everyone involved is going at it full speed. It was really nice to see that it was not playing safe and that it wanted to show brutality of what parts of Neverland can be like. I was pleased to see this and we usually get to see recent family films play safe and not to offend anyone.
However, most people are wanting to expect an enhancement and swash-buckling nature to the tone of the film. We do get in parts, but Wright and his team did not seem make the most of the world in which they have been given.
There are some scary parts which won't make it easy viewing for the kids. But I have always said that a dark element should be in more kids films as I feel kids need to experience fear at an early age.
Most of the performances were very enjoyable to watch. Hugh Jackman chews up the screen beautifully in his pantomime-esque performance of Blackbeard. Lev Miller as Pan proved how much of a talent he is and he managed to hold it together as Peter and gave us a believable character with a strong motive.
One performance was great to watch Garrett Helund's portrayal as a young James Hook. It was a bit over-the-top. But I think that was deliberate as that seem to fit in with the rest of the film.
Rooney Mara gave us a more in-depth feel of Tiger Lilly and was involved in some great fighting scenes.
I'm afraid there was one performance that I hated A LOT. It was Adeel Akhtar's performance as Smee. His attempt of getting the most laughs in the movie failed in my attempt. I think his comedy will suit the kids more. But I felt it to be poorly acted, mis-cast and not amusing in the slightest. You could call it the 'Jar Jar Binks moment'.
Another couple of negatives I really want to mention was the creepy use of two rock songs that were made long after the time period it was set in. It is something that I think nobody will be expecting. I can see what they were trying to do. But the choice of songs used totally caught me off-guard. I think an original piece that would have suited the moment would have been better. That would have kept me in what was a good set of visuals as we began to see the massive scope of this.
Despite all that, I can see Pan getting a few Oscar nominations in the categories of Best Costume and Best Set Design. I was really impressed with those parts of the film
All in all, it is a missed opportunity. It goes at a solid pace with many pleasing visuals, decent action set-pieces and the majority of the performances were entertaining.
However, I do not think it was gripping or entertaining enough to match with the others. I walked out of the theatre just thinking that it was ok. The good stuff was not strong enough. It was just fine. The source material wasn't totally grasped and I wanted to explore more of Neverland, and I can see many others saying that. Saying that reminds me of my review of Oz The Great And Pwerful if that can give you a good comparison.
It is not as good as it could have been. I suggest maybe waiting till it's on TV.
Rating: 6/10
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