PAN disappoints and bewilders

Movie:    Pan

Rating:  PG, 1 hour 51 minutes

Grade:   C-

In a Nutshell:    Maybe I’m weird, but I’ve never really liked Bobby Driscoll's story of Peter Pan .  I mean, a boy who refuses to grow up?  Don’t we already have enough of those in the world today?  Jealousy among Tinkerbell, Wendy, and the mermaids?...yep, we have enough caddy women in the world too.

And did we really need ANOTHER version of this movie?  This film, however, offers a new backstory that fleshes out the story and provides greater depth to the character motivation as a type of prequel.  Is it worth the retelling?  Meh.

Uplifting Theme:

·         “Sometimes to truly understand how things end, we must understand how they begin.”  - narrator 

       Hope, friendship

         

Things I liked:

·         Levi Miller, who plays Peter Pan,  is absolutely adorable.  Unfortunately, his pacing makes it look like he was told to constantly hurry up!

·         Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard is awesome.  He can do it all.

·         It’s very colorful and imaginative with lots of CGI action for kids.

·         Wow, Amanda Seyfried is playing a mother’s role already?  She is always beautiful and welcome in any role.

·         There is a surprising amount of music. 

·         Cara Delevingne is a beautiful mermaid.  You’ve seen her recently in the mopey teenage angst-ridden Paper Towns , which I hated.  Read my movie review of Paper Towns here.

·         Rooney Mara is a strange casting choice for Tiger Lily, but she's already winning awards for her role in "Carol".

·         There is a decent amount of subtle humor.  More please.

Things I didn’t like:

·         There were some odd religious undertones that I didn’t like.  For example, it was so cliché to have the nuns in the orphanage be cruel, but the surprising parts were the lines that Captain Hook spoke that made him out to be an evil Savior, quoting things like “Come unto me”.

·         It kind of felt like Mad Max in the sky....lots of crazy people and stuff constantly flying around.

·         Garrett Hedlund turns Hook into a kind of Indiana Jones douche bag.  His accent is super annoying.

·         The story line is messy, all over the place, and rushed.
-     Every shot looks manufactured and artificial.
-     Everyone starts singing Nivarna's "Everyone's Got Teen Spirit" for no apparent reason.  What the?

Interesting lines:

·         Are brave, Peter?”  - Blackbeard

“Trying to be.” – Peter

“Are you scared?” – Blackbeard

“Yes.”  - Peter

·         “Have you come to kill me?” – Blackbeard

“I don’t believe in bedtime stories.” – Peter

·         “I lie sometimes.  It’s called being a grown-up.”  - Hook     (What a terrible thing to say.)

Tips for Parents:

·          Little kids won't mind all the nonsense.  Purists of the original Disney version might hate it.
-      Lots of fighting, but nothing too scary.

Want to see other versions of this story?