The colorful children’s film “Pan” soared into theaters last week. Focused on the backstory of the childhood icon Peter Pan, the movie opened to a mixed bag of reviews.
Starring young newcomer Levi Miller in the titular role of Peter, the film follows the young orphan on his journey to Neverland. Peter is scooped up from his orphanage by pirates and flown through the air on a giant ship, finding himself in a dazzling new world.
After being taken captive by Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) and forced to work in his slave organization devoted to harvesting pixie dust, Peter finds out that he is prophesied to defeat the dreaded Blackbeard. Knowing that he’s in danger because of this prophecy, Peter eventually escapes with the help of his new friend Hook (Garrett Hedlund), and the two journey out to leave the island.
Peter, however, still has unfinished business. He resolves to find his mother, whom he believes to be somewhere in Neverland, before he leaves. On the run from Blackbeard, the two encounter the natives of Neverland, meeting Princess Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) who aligns with them on their quest as they race through Neverland to find Peter’s mother before the pirates do.
Pan is a visually stunning movie throughout. A couple of the most standout scenes in the film ranged from a chase sequence between World War II fighter jets and a pirate ship throughout the skies of London, and the main characters floating in a wooden basket and dodging alligator attacks down a mermaid filled lake. These vivid, dynamic scenes are plentiful and always aesthetically pleasing. The colors and sights are all unique, vibrant, and give the movie the magical, Peter Pan appeal that it’s going for.
Though the movie is certainly beautiful to take in, it isn’t necessarily the best in other areas. The plot can get pretty hard to follow at times and is often filled with holes. It feels like a big rush and quickly jumps from point to point without giving much of a segue. The scenes that deserved more time, like the encounter at Mermaid Lake, didn’t get nearly enough as they were due, and many of the other scenes were far too drawn out. In the end, the movie also leaves a few questions unanswered, with one main unaddressed hole being how Peter and Hook became enemies.
The lead cast is also mixed in their quality of performance. Levi Miller does a fantastic job as Peter, perfectly capturing the mischievous troublemaker version of Peter Pan that viewers of the past are familiar with. Though he’s the youngest cast member, he has arguably the best performance in the film. Peter’s counterpart in his adventure, however, is oftentimes hard to watch. Garret Hedlund’s portrayal of Hook is supposed to come off as dashing, but instead can just be grating. His strange, attempted Southern accent and tendency to yell his lines make his character oddly off-putting to watch.
All in all, Pan wasn’t the best watch. Though the movie is consistently visually unique and stunning, the plot and cast are never really able to get on a level that’s on par with the cinematography. Unless you’re a big Peter Pan fan, I’d say this one might not be worth heading out to get tickets for.
