“Pan” fails to deliver
Pan should have been magical. It had the potential, and visuals, to come with a children’s story filled with wonder and joy that would also appeal to adults. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and instead of walking out of the theater with a smile plastered to my face, I walked out indifferent.
I wanted so much more from Pan, but my dreams were crushed the second we landed in Neverland.
Serving as a prequel to J.M. Barrie’s classic Peter Pan stories, the film loses itself amidst the steampunk design, cliché narrative, laughable script and ruthless fairies.
The beginning was promising; with a backstory of Peter’s (portrayed by the brilliant newcomer Levi Miller) humble beginnings in a London orphanage during the worst of the Nazi air raids. We learn that his mother left him at the orphanage with nothing but a note and pan-pipes medallion. We see his affinity for mischief and justice, as he undermines authority and tries investigating why the other boys in the orphanage are disappearing. We soon learn that the nun in charge is selling the kids to pirates from Neverland. Pirates that bungee from the ceiling scooping the terrified children while they sleep. Visually it was phenomenal, and creepy. I’m sure some children slept with their parents that night.
Things start to get muddy, however, as soon as we land in Neverland. First we learn that Hugh Jackman as pirate Blackbeard is mining for fairy dust, or “pixum,” in a desperate attempt to keep his youthful look, like a Neverland Elizabeth Báthory.
We also learn that Blackbeard has an attraction to grunge music, as his entire slave team sings along with him to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which makes no sense in the theme of the movie, but gave me life.
To maintain order, Blackbeard routinely makes troublemakers walk the plank into a bed of rocks. Of course, rebel Peter lands on the plank on his first day, but shocks all when he takes flight before hitting the ground. Cue in a prophecy of half fairy, half human boy who will overthrow Blackbeard and win a rebellion for the natives of Neverland and free the fairies who went into hiding.
So Peter sets off with James Hook, a fellow miner and future nemesis, and a white Tiger Lily.
Visually, the movie is phenomenal. Recreating Neverland into the modern day, director Joe Wright created a place full of wonder and sometimes great, sometimes terrible CGI. The landscape and action segments of the film were done superbly, but the scenes where Peter flew around the island looked like an outtake from Harry Potter’s early quidditch days.
Quick side note: Tinkerbell and her fairy family are ruthless, and I love it. The small battle scene they are involved in is one of better scenes in the movie. I mean, who doesn’t love a bunch of fairies kicking the butts of old white men?
The film lost its umph with the cliché plot and weak script. I’m fully aware that the film was written for children, but I’ve seen Barney episodes with better scripts.
Pan had potential, but it didn’t deliver, and that’s a shame.
Pan opens this Friday in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
