Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Rooney Mara, Levi Miller, Amanda Seyfried, Cara Delevingne
Running time: 111 mins 
Rating: PG
Release date: October 6th, 2015

There has certainly been an onslaught of various children’s fairytale-come-movie big screen adaptations in recent months and now another has hit the big screen – PAN. The big-budget studio film has been re-imagined for children of this generation who are bestowed with films with CGI-infested trickery and director Joe Wright‘s PAN is certainly very technically sophisticated.

The director’s vision is an origins story of a wonderful tale that some may argue has already been given the big screen treatment one time too many already, but the question was really whether or not Wright’s adaptation could tell the story from a new angle, which has not been explored before.

In many respects, yes, it is a different take as the plot has been set as a prequel to J.M. Barrie’s classic Peter Pan stories, except with this version, there appears to be a lack of childhood innocence and mischief involved, which have instead been swapped for a more gritty narrative telling tales of warfare, child labour,  and unsustainable mineral mining. Rather strangely, the film has been repositioned to the beginning of World War II and doesn’t hold the fairytale world that young children love to surround themselves in.

It may surprise the audience to see that it has reverted to a some-what dark fairytale instead, which does have visual virtuosity and impressive CGI effects, but don’t expect the magic to come from Tinkerbell’s wand to liven the rather doom-and-gloom elements of the film.

In PAN, Peter (Levi Miller) is an orphan boy whisked off to a fantastical realm and forced to confront the idea that he’s a mythical ‘chosen one’. It seems like the film has more of a sprinkling of magical dust from HARRY POTTER’s wand rather than Tinkerbell’s with some references seemingly more JK Rowling than you would expect in a film about Peter Pan. 

Despite such similarities, there are moments when the film does thrive, particularly at the start as we see Peter get swiped from an orphanage as he is transported over a Blitz-driven London, as he sweeps between flying pirate ships and World War II planes. This is when the CGI really does captivate the audience’s attention – and no doubt it will certainly take the minds of little children with them as they see his arrival in Neverland where he is met by Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) who is leading a Lost Boys sing-along of Nirvana‘s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’- I kid you not when I say this – it certainly modernises the film’s songs anyway! 

There is no denying that Wright possesses great visual flair and expertise behind the camera, with great snippets of cinematography at its finest, but as the audience delves deeper into the plot, what makes fairytale films so special suddenly disperses as a battle between visual captivation and an intriguing story arc kicks in. This may be due to the pressure of needing to find a different angle to the story to make it feel different to its predecessors and be recognised as a sequel, but there are too many things going on with all of the others characters, who are screaming to get their reasoning for being there apparent, making it rather difficult to invest time in any of them and develop their narratives further. 

The reason that Disney’s PETER PAN was so popular when it was first released in the 1950’s – and is still loved today – is because it was so simple. The plots and the characters are straight forward, but it works. In some respects, if the characters were not named, it would be difficult to know exactly who they were. An example of this is with Garrett Hedlund‘s Hook, who is without a hook and never gives off any notion that he will indeed become the troublesome, scheming pirate that we all know and love, as there are no real moments of villainy, instead we see him as more of an adventurer who forms a beautiful friendship with  Peter and Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara).

For those unfamiliar with the original story, they would be forgiven for thinking that it is indeed Jackman’s Blackbeard who is playing Hook as he plays the villainous role in this adaptation – he certainly has the moustache for Hook anyway!

Despite such disparities, there are familiarities which traditional PETER PAN lovers will be relieved to see as we do still have a Tinkerbell and the infamous crocodile, but don’t expect to see the Darling family anytime soon, as the film is set prior to their existence.  

Overall, Wright’s prequel does boast some lavish CGI scenes, particularly of the landscapes of Neverland, but for those familiar with the original fairytale, they may still pine to see more familiar aspects, which they will not get in this movie, as the film is not set out to retell the story over again, but to take us back to the origins of the main characters.

PAN is very likely to still fair well at the worldwide box office with stars like Jackman being a huge selling point and for those encountering their first experience of Peter Pan and his life, they won’t be disappointed, as they may not hanker for Barrie’s familiar fairytale, which clearly I am fond of. I suspect others may feel the same too…

Verdict

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