From the man who brought us such classic tales as PRIDE & PREJUDICE and ANNA KARENINA ~ JOE WRIGHT ~ comes the prequel storyline of Peter Pan, in the magical world of NEVERLAND ~ with this latest creation ~ PAN!
Orphaned as a baby – Peter (Levi Miller) is forced to live with quite a few other small boys in an awful place, run by the mean and nasty Mother Barnabas (Kathy Burke).
When boys start disappearing at a fast clip ~ and never to return ~ Peter and his friend Nibs (Louis MacDougall) are bound and determined to find out where they all have gone…
It doesn’t take long for Peter and Nibs meet the same fate as the other boys, being snatched from their beds by Blackbeard’s men!!!
Now under the watchful eye of the NASTIEST PIRATE ON EARTH, Peter is met by a full-grown fellow slave named Hook (played by Garrett Hendlund).
Determined to get off of this humungous island of rock where they are expected to mine the fairy gems for Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman), Peter and Hook find that they might just need one another to make it though “this little journey” as they both plan their escape from this torturous land ~ and it seems they may need to enlist the assistance of the beautiful Indian maid Tiger Lilly (Rooney Mara) too, if they ever want to make it back from where they came from…
I give PAN a rating of WAIT AND CATCH THIS ONE ON DVD ~ Even though I am sure the many a boy is going to want to catch this prequel to the classic tale of PETER PAN at the theater this weekend, even seeing it in 3D didn’t enamor me enough to want to send you to the theater to see it. Jackman’s portrayal of Blackbeard is adequate, as is Hendlund’s portrayal of HOOK (even though he isn’t the mean and nasty HOOK yet ~ SPOILER!), and I have loved actress Rooney Mara’s previous work in films like THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO and SIDE EFFECTS, but her role just came across as adequate too. But, Miller is perfect as Pan, and MacDougall’s acting, even though very short lived, was exceptional too for a young actor. I was also hoping so see more of Wright’s flowing entrancement in this film, just like that that appeared in Pride & Prejudice and Anna Karenina, but, sadly, that feeling wasn’t anywhere to be found either. And one more important thing I must share with all the mothers out there ~ this film is really for the BIG & LITTLE Boys in your life, as they will probably enjoy it immensely, but the girls in your life on the other hand, may end up being bored out to the minds. I share this as I asked a few of the young ladies who saw the advanced screening with me what they thought of the film, and they shared that they were just “really bored” and it seemed to be a “guys thing”…so it’s up to you what you want to do with taking your girls to see it, just remember, if there’s any whining…I warned you 😉
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 