When casting for Pan was first announced, it was almost immediately slammed in the media for whitewashing Tiger Lily, a Native American woman played in the film by the very not Native American Rooney Mara. As the film's release date gets closer, those kinds of gripes are unfortunately not fading away and as much as I don't necessarily agree with the outcry, there's not much in the way of brilliance to help Pan fight out of this hole.
Pan is a prequel for the very famous story of Peter Pan, originally written by J. M. Barrie. It's an intriguing concept, certainly. How did Peter end up in Neverland? How did Captain Hook become his enemy? In Peter Pan, we are introduced to a fully formed world. Pan tries its hardest to fill in what happened before Peter meets Wendy and the Darlings (that has to be a band name already). In this film, Peter (Levi Miller) is just a 12-year-old orphan in a rundown orphanage, hoping every day that his mother will come and rescue him. However, when he's abducted by Blackbeard's (Hugh Jackman) men and whisked away to Neverland, he realizes that his destiny may lie in this new land.
Speaking of Blackbeard, the film's villain just doesn't come across that interesting. His most interesting qualities tend to be his strangest, least enjoyable traits. For instance, when Peter first comes to Neverland and arrives at Blackbeard's mines (where he's mining for fairy dust), the hordes of miners and pirates, gathered on cliff sides, are belting out Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Not only does it evoke very similar scenes from Mad Max: Fury Road, but also the inclusion of such anachronistic music (Peter is from WWII-era London) is utterly baffling. It only happens once more in the film, also tied to Blackbeard's men, and no one else in the film does it. Unlike a film like Moulin Rouge, which wholeheartedly decided to run with it, Pan's use of modern music just feels off-putting and unnecessary. I mean we all know Jackman can sing but that doesn't mean he needs to sing in every single one of his films.
Nothing in Pan is all that thrilling. While it's interesting to see how Peter became Peter Panâ„¢, many of the plot choices are strange and unexplained. Peter befriends fellow miner James Hook (Garrett Hedlund) while James romances Tiger Lily (Mara) but it's never explained how friends become enemies. Perhaps trying to set up a sequel? Either way, Hedlund's Hook is blonde and dashing, has two hands, and can only seem to yell his way through his dialogue.
Boring plot choices aside, Pan is entertaining. Since the audience knows how it's all going to turn out, the stakes may not be high, but it's fun to watch these well known characters interact on screen. And the setting is gorgeous. Neverland, as expected, is full of mythical creatures and beautiful scenery. There are rainbow mists and lush forests that are a joy to watch in 3-D. A few scenes use some truly beautiful and inventive animations that are incredibly easy on the eyes.
Pan is far from something of real substance, but it is definitely an entertaining kids' movie. While adults may opt-out of seeing a childhood favorite in a new (some could say money-grabbing) film, kids will love it. It has action and adventure and a little boy who becomes great by believing in himself. Pan will never be a favorite Joe Wright film of mine "“ that's a tie between 2005's Pride and Prejudice and 2007's Atonement because YES I'M A GIRL. I still think plenty of children will enjoy this film, so much so that we may even get a sequel. Just make sure those kids see the Disney version too, okay parents?
