Movie Review: Pan
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
Every once in a while, life hands you an unexpected treat. In this particular case that treat is the new family adventure film Pan. You likely did not know you were even missing something in your children’s fairy tale catalog. That is, you probably never stopped to think, even after seeing Peter Pan in full on Disney style so many times, about how Peter became Peter in the first place. This movie answers that unasked question for us.
The film was directed by Joe Wright who is better know for more adult fare like Atonement (2007) and Pride and Prejudice (2005). The screenplay was written by Jason Fuchs who has only one kid’s film under his belt, Ice Age: 
Continental Drift (2012). How does this pairing of writer and director fare whilst trying to deliver a Peter Pan prequel? Quite well indeed.
Pan is the story of an orphan boy, named Peter (Levi Miller), in England during the height of World War II, who misses his mother every day and feels that he will find her someday – as many orphans understandably do. Peter is special however. Just how special surprises even himself. The story opens at an orphanage, a dreary place run by Mother Barnabus (Kathy Burke) who has no kindness in her soul for anyone, least of all children. Peter and his best friend Nibs (Lewis MacDougall) are convinced that Mother is up to no good and that she is hoarding rations for herself. They investigate and discover, through much bumbling and stumbling, that they are not only correct but that Mother is up to much worse than simply mistreating the children. No sooner do they make this discovery then Peter is swept up by forces unknown and spirited off to Neverland, where he and many other children are forced to mine pixie dust, or “pyx,” for the pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman). Peter next encounters a fellow inmate on his first day named James Hook (Garrett Hedlund) who begrudgingly guides the lad around. Peter is quickly noticed by Blackbeard and subsequently imprisoned, along with Hook, in the deepest of dungeons.
Once they escape, Peter, Hook, and Sam “Smee” Smiegel (Adeel Ahktar) find their way to Neverland’s native territory in an effort to be free of Blackbeard and hopefully find something out about Peter’s mother. There they meet Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara), a fierce warrior who was trained by Peter’s mom. The natives capture the trio and only the chanciest of circumstance save them from execution, as they are believed to be pirates. At this point the story builds to the inevitable conflict between natives and pirates. Underneath all of this lurks Peter’s maternal, the truth of his heritage, and a romantic sub-plot between Hook and Tiger Lily. In the end, you can bet we learn whether or not a boy can fly.
What is harder to describe without giving away too much is how incredibly good it all is. Levi Miller is perfectly likable and believable in the title role. Hugh Jackman chews up every scene with menace and delight. Garret Hedlund is an actor I have never seen play a role that one expects to dislike from the very start and he is possibly the best part of Pan. Imagine a live action Disney story where Han Solo sweeps into town and decides he is going to play the role of Captain Hook.
Did I mention flying pirate ships – battling, flying pirate ships? This movie has that too. So, if you’re into enjoying that sort of spectacle and, you know, have a pulse, then yes, you will enjoy the battling, flying pirate ships. I know I did. Probably more so than my kid who was mostly into Peter and the Fairies. It is clear the folks that brought you the Harry Potter movies put this one together. The sets and effects blend seamlessly together and the entire production does a great job of world building.
Based on the standard Frankenstein kid test pattern, whereby I analyze how many times my child gets nervous, worried, or simply freaks out during the louder and more violent scenes, I rate Pan a five on a ten point scale. Only one scary incident occurred during the entire movie – but it does involve a monstrously large crocodile so be prepared to hug the little ones through that. The upside is that a mermaid scene follows shortly after and dulls the sting of the crocodile pretty quick.
The toughest part of a film like Pan is that you can only stray so far story-wise or with character development. Certainly that was an apparent limitation here, but overall still not too bad a job of it. We all know Peter is going to turn out to be a hero and that he will ultimately win the day. That being said, the fun is seeing how odd his journey to that place really is. The friendship with Hook was very well done. The foreshadowing was excellent. We meet Hook sharpening a tool for Peter. He is sharpening it with, naturally, a sharp-edged hook. Certainly a bit of predictability is unavoidable with a film like this. That is simply how prequels are.
Steven Gahm
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