Pan is a film based on the story of Peter Pan, the boy who rules an island in Neverland and never wants to grow up. It’s directed Joe Wright who some may remember as the director of Anna Karenina (2012). This film stars Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller, Garrett Hedlund and Cara Delevingne.
Pan Trailer
Pan Review
Almost everyone knows the story of Peter Pan, if you haven’t seen the animated Disney film, you’ve probably heard about him in any of the many books, tv shows or films currently out there. This film does things a little bit differently in that we are set up with the story of how Peter Pan became Peter Pan, it’s an origin story film. This isn’t the story of Peter Pan flying over to Wendy’s place and taking her to Neverland, it’s a story of how Peter Pan got to Neverland in the first place.
I went into this film really wanting to like it because I am a big fan of the Peter Pan stories and I know that they can be done very well. For the most part this version does very well, but in some other parts it doesn’t at all. The best thing about Pan is Hugh Jackman, who plays Blackbeard and really puts in quite a solid performance. But the rest of the cast is fairly flat. Levi Miller was quite good as Peter Pan, but the rest of the cast were either forgettable or unrecognizable.
Looking at the directing from Joe Wright, it was okay overall but could have been a lot better, with the film feeling like it dragged on quite a bit at certain points. I was in a theatre filled with kids when I watched this and while there were a few laughs that I could hear, here and there out of the kids, the cinema was fairly quiet for the most part. But I’m not saying it isn’t a good film, it just didn’t feel like a phenomenal one.
The music is quite good, with many themes being well chosen throughout the film and the special effects aren’t too bad either. The 3D is well done, with many things jumping out towards you and out of the screen which makes it fun and it’s probably something the kids will really enjoy.
In terms of the script, it’s okay, but it’s not the most interesting. The film towards the end seems to suggest that there is a sequel coming and to be honest I am more interested in the story of the sequel than what happened here. But we do get to know quite a bit about Peter Pan. We learn about his time as an orphan and see him interact with quite a few adults in Neverland and his negative experience with them., Peter Pan is much more happier in Neverland than he ever was in the orphanage and his experience with Blackbeard when he first arrived on the island was very interesting.
Overall Pan is an okay family film to watch but it isn’t the phenomenal Peter Pan film that everyone is expecting to see. Hugh Jackman is the biggest star in the film and he really stood out, delivering a great performance as the films villain Blackbeard. The story of how Peter Pan got to the island and his background as an orphan was interesting, but the film did drag on quite a bit once past the middle section and the pacing is fairly slow at certain points. But it’s got some fairly good musical themes and the 3D effects are sure to please many kids going in to see this at their local cinema.
