‘Pride & Prejudice’ Joe Wright’s Pan running at 111 minutes may have won the Australian Film Institute’s Outstanding Achievement Award in Visual Effects and perhaps remains just at that for it is far-fetched from J M Barrie’s classical novel Peter Pan.
A poor adaptation of the novel, Wright, after the immense success of Pride & Prejudice (2005) fails to wow with his story line and plot.
Peter (Levi Miller) is left at the doorsteps of an orphanage by his mother with promises to meet him in another world. Growing up in Mother Barnabas’ poorhouse is no mean feat; lack of food, sleep and the constant fear of being sent up to clean the chimneys. Moreover, more than often boys are being sent off to ‘apparent’ new homes.
Our little hero must investigate and lo and behold- what does he find? Many a secret come tumbling out of the closet, literally and Peter is ‘kidnapped’ actually air-lifted into a world of fear, slavery and repression where he meets the loud-mouthed, awe-demanding Blackbeard, (Hugh Jackman) a pirate who has enslaved hundreds of young boys and men in his mine. What are they supposed to discover? Fairy dust, the secret to Blackbeard’s youth and power.
But of course through a series of incidents, Blackbeard discovers that Pan could fly and wonders if he is the boy, of whom it was prophesied, would be the cause of Blackbeard’s death. Moreover Peter has in person a harp pendant.
Along with his fellow-slave, Hook (Garrett Hedlund) Peter escapes into the forests and both are picked up by the tribal Tiger Lilly (Rooney Mara) who takes them into the colourful, secluded village of the natives.
Yet things are not so cosy and Smee (Adeel Akhtar), an accompanying slave supervisor (also having escaped with the duo), falls prey to the hunting party of Blackbeard and betrays the location of the natives and their village.
The only way to save the closely guarded secret of the fairy world of Neverland (with its immense reserves of the magical fairy dust) is to personally go there and re-visit his mother. Well, Blackbeard is there in the hiding and the route to Neverland is soon no longer a secret.
Will Blackbeard succeed in his evil mission or will Pan become the legend that the whole of the fantasy world has been waiting for? The answer is but obvious, as obvious as the dull acting, fake facial expressions and lethargic plot.
Pan has to its credit some superior visuals and that’s just about it all.
Rating: 2.5/5