PAN (2015) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

PAN (2015) movie

Genre             |  Fantasy

Classification   |   PG

Running time   |   111 minutes

Released         |   24 September 2015

cast

Hugh Jackman ... Blackbeard
Levi Miller ... Peter
Garrett Hedlund ... Hook
Rooney Mara ... Tiger Lily
Amanda Seyfried ... Mary
​Cara Delevingne ... Mermaids

director

Joe Wright

writer

​Jason Fuchs ... (written by)
 
J.M. Barrie ... (characters)

cinematographer

​John Mathieson ... director of photography
Seamus McGarvey ... director of photography

music

​John Powell

film editor

William Hoy
Paul Tothill

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box office result

Worldwide             $​​​128,388,320   

Australia                 $​​​​5,296,771

North America       $​35,088,320​

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the best dialogue

Peter Pan: [narrating] I am going to tell you a story about a boy who would never grow up. About the pirate who wished to kill him. About the island where fairies roamed. But this isn't the story you've heard before, because sometimes friends begin as enemies, and enemies begin as friends. Sometimes to truly understand how things end, we must first know how they begin.

Blackbeard: Rule number one, "Those who work with bright, honest vigor will be rewarded with prizes and trophies and confectionery!" Rule number two, "Those who fail to work hard, those who skive or malinger, will hereby know the brooding majesty of my disapproval." Mark me well. I know no pity. No second chances. I don't do mercy. But remember, don't forget to help yourselves to lots and lots of jolly old fun! Hey kiddiewinks, welcome to Neverland!

Blackbeard: We have an ancient prophecy from the fairy kingdoms who lived on this island. The prophecy tells of a boy, born of the love between a fairy prince and a human girl. The boy would be disappeared from this world, until he was old enough to return and lead an uprising against me. The boy, so says the prophecy, who could fly.

PAN (2015) MOVIE IMAGES

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PAN (2015) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Living a bleak existence at a London orphanage, 12-year-old Peter (Levi Miller) finds himself whisked away to the fantastical world of Neverland. Adventure awaits as he meets new friend James Hook (Garrett Hedlund) and the warrior Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara). They must band together to save Neverland from the ruthless pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman). Along the way, the rebellious and mischievous boy discovers his true destiny, becoming the hero forever known as Peter Pan.

PAN (2015) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 23 September 2015
​Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐½

Joe Wright’s PAN is like a big salted caramel candy, starting off sweet and delicious, but - ultimately - dissolving into nothing with no sense that you’ve experienced anything of substance. It seems that Wright was of the belief that framing PAN as a prequel was the way to open a new vein of stories for J.M. Barrie’s classic tale about the boy who never grows up, but the film’s failure to present any new ides to the story's mythology makes PAN’s 111 minute running time feel far too long as Peter Pan’s antics play out in the same manner they have whenever a filmmaker has decided to venture to Neverland.

The story opens in London, with Peter’s mother dropping him at the Orphanage where the opening scenes of the film play out against the backdrop of the German Luftwaffe bombing Great Britain’s capital during World War II. It’s here that the viewer gets the first sense of what is to come, as Mother Barnabas (Kathy Burke) inflicts a level of Dickensian mean upon young children that has a whole subtext attached to it in relation to how organized religion has provided a front for some truly awful people. At times, Jason Fuchs’ screenplay takes great delight at allowing Mother Barnabas to metaphorically rub the children’s noses in it, especially young Peter (Levi Miller). Peter soon discovers the truth about Barnabas, but before he can rally his fellow orphans, he is stolen away in the middle of the night by a flying Pirate ship!

In one of the film’s more inventive set-pieces, the flying Pirate ship is chased across the London cityscape in the middle of the night by the British Air Force in their famous Bristol Beaufighters. It’s at this point in the film that there still seems to be hope that Wright will make PAN something different and add to the mythology he created when PETER AND WENDY was first published back in 1911. Peter’s introduction to Neverland is met with a rendition of Nirvana’s SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, adding to the feeling that the film is going to take off in some weird and wonderful direction that plays with convention and is uniquely entertaining. This hope evaporates with the entrance of Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman). Blackbeard is an extension of Mother Barnabas, stripping the joy from all those around him. Unlike Dustin Hoffman in Steven Spielberg’s 1991 HOOK, Jackman doesn’t go for moustache-twirling pantomime. He plays Blackbeard as a far more serious character, who exhibits genuine malice and will stop at nothing in his quest for the magical Pixie Dust that stops him from growing old.

James Hook (Garret Hedlund) and Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) enter the fray soon after, but are given little to do other than chase or be chased through the jungles of Neverland by Blackbeard’s cronies. Turning Hook into something of a frenemy for Peter could have been an inspired turn and the film’s marketing certainly seeks to leverage the concept, but the execution within the film itself is poor. Hedlund’s turn as Hook is embarrassing; mainly due to the ridiculous accent he uses and the slapstick manner in which he executes the physical elements of his performance. Even Jackman as Blackbeard, who is meant to be much older than anyone else in Neverland, exhibits more style and precision in the physicality stakes. Rooney Mara is only slightly better and is let down by a script that never really defines her relationship with Hook (despite the constant by-play between the two throughout the second half of the film) and leaves her to be the sole source of exposition for Peter to take his rightful place among the inhabitants of Neverland.

The second half of PAN is let-down by an over-reliance upon visual effects and some time-honoured plotting cliches that are contrived and will have adult viewers of the film rolling their eyes at how blatant they are. Despite young Levi Miller’s earnest performance, he doesn’t have enough experience or charisma to lift the effort of those around him. In key dramatic moments, he’s just a little bit off with his emotion and timing; failing to sell his story to the viewer. t doesn’t help that PAN ultimately becomes a chase film, with Peter and Tiger Lily forced to fend off Blackbeard’s marauders time and time again. The recurrence of these skirmishes may please PAN’s younger viewers, but they do nothing to excite anyone who is moved past the age of 12.

​In a premise that offered so much, the story falls away quite badly in the Final Act, as Pan and Blackbeard engage in the mandatory duel at the film’s climax. There’s no doubt that kids will love it, with all the colour and movement on offer. Mature viewers (especially Parents) will endure it for the sake of their children, but for all the effort and expense, PAN fails to offer anything new. Too much reliance is placed upon the visual effects to help reinforce story beats, but the VFX is not quite up-to-scratch. Ultimately, PAN begs, borrows and steals from Barrie’s mythology (as well as others), leaving the viewer feeling as though they’ve seen this all before. And, they’d be correct.

PAN (2015) USEFUL LINKS

Pan (2015 film) - Wikipedia
​Pan (2015) - IMDb
​Pan (2015) - Rotten Tomatoes​

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