Pan

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Levi Miller, Rooney Mara, Amanda Seyfried, Adeel Akhtar, Nonso Anozie, Cara Delevingne, Kathy Burke, Lewis MacDougall, Bronson Webb
Directed by: Joe Wright
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An orphan, Peter (Levi Miller) is kidnapped away to Neverland, where he meets a colorful cast of characters and begins to understand his destiny.

Review:

Tim: I'm not sure who's idea it was to do a Peter Pan origin story, but it seems a curious choice. Sure, fairy tales have been popular hits in recent years, but who was clamoring for another Peter Pan movie? It didn't help that the film just looked bad- it looked silly, childish, and like we'd seen it before. It was no surprise to me that this film tanked at the box office.

Now, I do have to admit I found the Peter Pan origin story better than I expected. It still wasn't good, but it was kind of interesting to see how the character developed. I loved the twist that Captain Hook and he were friends. It gave the relationship this interesting, tragic dynamic as you knew these two friends were destined to be mortal enemies. That was an unexpected aspect to this film that I enjoyed. I was mildly interested in Tiger Lilly and all the other characters. I liked seeing what their lives were like before meeting Peter. This is probably the film's biggest strength, although it's not even close to being enough to overcome its flaws.

I bet the cast regrets appearing here. It's headlined by Hugh Jackman, who gives one of the worst performances I've seen in quite a while. Everything about his character just seemed off. He looked terrible, like he was trying to follow in Johnny Depp's footsteps (please God, don't let anyone else try to go down that disastrous path). Jackman seemed ridiculous in his costume and makeup, and his performance suffered as a result. He was just plain bad. Levi Miller was fine as Peter- he brings youthful energy to the role. I like Garrett Hedlund, but I have no idea what he was doing with his performance. The way he articulated his lines seemed forced and phony. Hook was still the most fascinating character in the film, but I really struggled with Hedlund's performance. It felt like Rooney Mara was woefully miscast as Tiger Lilly. She's an Indian Princess, so we get a very white actress to play her. It made no sense and was just another example of Hollywood whitewashing. Mara was fine, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she had no business playing this role. Amanda Seyfried had almost nothing of substance to do, so her presence is a bit perplexing. As a whole, the cast was a disappointment.

Like many of these fairy tale films, Pan is all flash and no real substance (outside of perhaps Peter and Hook's relationship). The whole movie feels like it just missed the mark. I still asked myself every five minutes why we needed a Peter Pan origin story. Outside of shedding a little more light on the character, it just felt like an entirely lackluster affair. The movie is too long at 111 minutes. While director Joe Wright never lets the film completely drag, I can't say I was much engaged in the story for stretches of the film.

When you add it all up, Pan is an okay but disappointing film. I didn't hate it, but it is a lackluster, average time. I could have easily skipped this movie and missed out on nothing... besides perhaps watching Jackman just make a fool of himself in a terrible role.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland