Pan - directed by Joe Wright
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, Garrett Hedlund, Levi Miller, Amanda Seyfried, Adeel Akhtar, Kathy Burke, Cara Delevingne
Running Time: 111 minutes
Rated: PG - fantasy violence
Director Joe Wright was pretty much the reason for catching an advanced screening of "Pan".
Even though I hated "Hanna" I liked "Anna Karenina" and "Atonement" and really liked his shot at "Pride and Prejudice".
He has some great visual touches in his movies from the long take opening of "Pride and Prejudice" and that sweeping Dunkirk shot in "Atonement" to the deliberate and amazing fakery of "Anna Karenina" (review)
The trailer for "Pan" may not have grabbed me with content but the promise that Joe Wright brings did.
Oh and I swear that Peter says "Holy Pooty!" in that trailer too.
If slang for lady parts was going to be tossed around in this thing further investigation would be required.
I should state at this early stage that if you are reading on for said investigation that you may as well stop - it is sadly the sole usage of any word remotely usable to describe the female front bum.
It is a lesser movie for it.
It doesn't take long for Wright to stamp a visual style on "Pan".
The early scenes have some beautiful shots of Spitfires, German bombers and flying pirate ships.
You read that right- flying pirate ships.
Set in London during World War 2 Blackbeard has been sending his flying ships there from Neverland to kidnap children to work in his mines.
He has his reasons of course but for the audience the result is some surreal and very nicely executed scenes where a sailing ship is pursued across the night skies of 1940's London by a trio of Spitfires with guns constantly chattering.
If this is a slightly odd sight it is nothing compared to the scene that follows where young Peter arrives in Neverland to be welcomed with a cast of thousands singing Nirvana's 'Smells Like Ten Spirit'.
For a moment I was concerned that the movie was about to turn into a musical - a genre I really don't care for.
But no- this is a died in the wool fantasy flick.
And how.
The trip to Neverland is a stunner.
The pirate ship that Peter and his friends is transported on climbs into the sky, plummets to the ocean then shoots across a landscape of huge floating water bubbles and swooping flying fish.
The humans have the same level of imagination bestowed upon them too- at least visually.
Hugh Jackman's Blackbeard is a weird creation of wigs and pirate paraphernalia.
Jackman is very, very good in this role and seems to be having a lot of fun.
He is all but unrecognisable hopping up onto railings, flailing a sword around and generally being horribly evil.
Even better is Rooney Mara as Tiger Lilly.
Clad in a glorified bikini with face paint and a large headdress she is elfish and effortlessly lovely.
The village that she rules over is not a million miles from Pandora from "Avatar" so lush and colourful is the jungle surrounding it.
Visual prowess and imaginative production design is all well and good but you need a compelling story to go along with them.
"Pan" is only moderately successful in this regard.
As everyone on the planet over the age of four knows what happens in Peter Pan this prequel has a problem in that it is almost entirely lacking in surprises or tension.
When Tiger Lilly first announces that Peter mist fly to prove himself Pan we know how this is going to play out.
Sure there is some fun along the way.
Garrett Hedlund as James Hook gets some decent lines that generated a few chuckles.
Adeel Akhtar ("Four Lions", "The Dictator") steals every scene as Mr Smee and deserved more screen time.
The effects are top notch and the performances of Jackman and Rooney are spot on.
It's just that everything that happens is entirely predictable.
The pacing also means that there isn't a lot of time for characters to develop to the level that they might.
I wanted to know more about Hook and Tiger Lilly.
Hell- the whole village.
And Peter himself.
There isn't an awful lot to tell really and Levi Miller is quite good in the role but considering that this movie is about him we don't really get any insights as to what sort of kid he is.
And fans of Cara Delevigne and Amanda Seyfried are sure to be disappointed as they have barely 5 minutes of screen time between them.
"Pan" is entertaining and looks amazing.
There is plenty of imagination and spectacle but not nearly enough characterisation or plot.
It seems to promise all sorts of things but you soon realise that these are merely nods towards what will happen later in the story of Peter Pan.
There is a scene with a crocodile and a certain fairy males a very brief appearance for example.
I wanted to like this movie more than I ultimately did.
Sadly though I started to get restless around half way.
It is an odd movie that seems to sit uncomfortably between the familiar and the unfamiliar and between the real world and the fantasy one.
Nirvana references and the bombing of World War 2 era London are strange bedfellows.
And oddly Blackbeard has more than a touch of Bram Stokers Dracula about him.
I quite like this design choice but again- it creates a weird sort of jumble of a character.
"Pan" also seems to slip between the cracks of the intended audience ages.
Honestly I don't know what age group this is aimed at but it appears to be too mature for the young ones and too childish for older kids.
I hope that it does find an audience but it would surprise me greatly if it did.
RATING: 68/ 100
CONCLUSION: Loaded with imagination and the visual punch that you'd expect from Wright but apart from three terrific performances (Mara, Jackman and Akhtar) there isn't too much to get excited about.
Running Time: 111 minutes
Rated: PG - fantasy violence
Director Joe Wright was pretty much the reason for catching an advanced screening of "Pan".
Even though I hated "Hanna" I liked "Anna Karenina" and "Atonement" and really liked his shot at "Pride and Prejudice".
He has some great visual touches in his movies from the long take opening of "Pride and Prejudice" and that sweeping Dunkirk shot in "Atonement" to the deliberate and amazing fakery of "Anna Karenina" (review)
The trailer for "Pan" may not have grabbed me with content but the promise that Joe Wright brings did.
Oh and I swear that Peter says "Holy Pooty!" in that trailer too.
If slang for lady parts was going to be tossed around in this thing further investigation would be required.
I should state at this early stage that if you are reading on for said investigation that you may as well stop - it is sadly the sole usage of any word remotely usable to describe the female front bum.
It is a lesser movie for it.
It doesn't take long for Wright to stamp a visual style on "Pan".
The early scenes have some beautiful shots of Spitfires, German bombers and flying pirate ships.
You read that right- flying pirate ships.
Set in London during World War 2 Blackbeard has been sending his flying ships there from Neverland to kidnap children to work in his mines.
He has his reasons of course but for the audience the result is some surreal and very nicely executed scenes where a sailing ship is pursued across the night skies of 1940's London by a trio of Spitfires with guns constantly chattering.
If this is a slightly odd sight it is nothing compared to the scene that follows where young Peter arrives in Neverland to be welcomed with a cast of thousands singing Nirvana's 'Smells Like Ten Spirit'.
For a moment I was concerned that the movie was about to turn into a musical - a genre I really don't care for.
But no- this is a died in the wool fantasy flick.
And how.
The trip to Neverland is a stunner.
The pirate ship that Peter and his friends is transported on climbs into the sky, plummets to the ocean then shoots across a landscape of huge floating water bubbles and swooping flying fish.
 |
| Rooney Mara, Garrett Hedlund and Levi Miller |
Hugh Jackman's Blackbeard is a weird creation of wigs and pirate paraphernalia.
Jackman is very, very good in this role and seems to be having a lot of fun.
He is all but unrecognisable hopping up onto railings, flailing a sword around and generally being horribly evil.
Even better is Rooney Mara as Tiger Lilly.
Clad in a glorified bikini with face paint and a large headdress she is elfish and effortlessly lovely.
The village that she rules over is not a million miles from Pandora from "Avatar" so lush and colourful is the jungle surrounding it.
Visual prowess and imaginative production design is all well and good but you need a compelling story to go along with them.
"Pan" is only moderately successful in this regard.
As everyone on the planet over the age of four knows what happens in Peter Pan this prequel has a problem in that it is almost entirely lacking in surprises or tension.
When Tiger Lilly first announces that Peter mist fly to prove himself Pan we know how this is going to play out.
Sure there is some fun along the way.
Garrett Hedlund as James Hook gets some decent lines that generated a few chuckles.
Adeel Akhtar ("Four Lions", "The Dictator") steals every scene as Mr Smee and deserved more screen time.
 |
| Blackbeard - shades of the vampire? |
It's just that everything that happens is entirely predictable.
The pacing also means that there isn't a lot of time for characters to develop to the level that they might.
I wanted to know more about Hook and Tiger Lilly.
Hell- the whole village.
And Peter himself.
There isn't an awful lot to tell really and Levi Miller is quite good in the role but considering that this movie is about him we don't really get any insights as to what sort of kid he is.
And fans of Cara Delevigne and Amanda Seyfried are sure to be disappointed as they have barely 5 minutes of screen time between them.
"Pan" is entertaining and looks amazing.
There is plenty of imagination and spectacle but not nearly enough characterisation or plot.
It seems to promise all sorts of things but you soon realise that these are merely nods towards what will happen later in the story of Peter Pan.
There is a scene with a crocodile and a certain fairy males a very brief appearance for example.
I wanted to like this movie more than I ultimately did.
Sadly though I started to get restless around half way.
It is an odd movie that seems to sit uncomfortably between the familiar and the unfamiliar and between the real world and the fantasy one.
Nirvana references and the bombing of World War 2 era London are strange bedfellows.
And oddly Blackbeard has more than a touch of Bram Stokers Dracula about him.
I quite like this design choice but again- it creates a weird sort of jumble of a character.
"Pan" also seems to slip between the cracks of the intended audience ages.
Honestly I don't know what age group this is aimed at but it appears to be too mature for the young ones and too childish for older kids.
I hope that it does find an audience but it would surprise me greatly if it did.
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