Sometimes, more can be less.
“Pan,” an original story about Peter Pan, is overproduced, reminiscent of other movies (including “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter” and the greatest story ever told, with a mother named Mary and a son who is the chosen one) and so obviously artificial that it can keep the audience at arm’s length. It also makes reference to death in a way that might be a little too mature for a movie rated PG.
Starring: Levi Miller, Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund
Rating: PG for fantasy action violence, language and some thematic material.
The tale opens in London with a mother gently placing her infant son, Peter, at the gate of an orphanage run by the misnamed Sisters of Eternal Prudence. When the action immediately shifts a dozen years ahead, the city is in the midst of World War II and Peter (Levi Miller) shrewdly suspects something is amiss at the home for boys.
Not only are rations disappearing but raising the Jolly Roger here signals the OK for pirates to spirit away some of the boys to Neverland, which is where Peter is transported and turned into a child laborer.
Under the iron fist of Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman), scores of orphans and some adults — including James Hook (Garrett Hedlund) — are forced to mine for pixum, from which pixie dust is extracted.
Peter’s unexpected ability to fly saves him from plummeting to his death but makes him the subject of Blackbeard’s sinister suspicions. He has heard of a prophecy about a boy, born of a fairy prince and a human girl, who could fly. That child will lead an uprising against Blackbeard, prompting him to ask, “Have you come to kill me, Peter?”
The youngster lands in jail but, thanks to Hook, makes a break for it with the hope of finding his mother. This high-flying adventure introduces some of the characters and creatures that were mainstays of the J.M. Barrie books and adaptations, from the warrior Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) and Tinkerbell to crocodiles, with one here looking like an escapee from Jurassic Park.
As promised in the opening narration, “This isn’t the story you heard before. Sometimes friends begin as enemies and enemies as friends.” And sometimes movies don’t answer all the questions about those equations, preferring perhaps to leave them to sequels.
At one point, Peter asks an old pal, “Would you like to have some fun?” and the other boy replies, “Yes, please.”
Despite the 3-D (in some theaters), makeup and black wig flourishes for Blackbeard, and elaborate sets including flying ship, quarries, enchanted woods and mermaid lagoons, “Pan” often is not much fun.
Young Miller, blessed with expressive blue eyes, makes a most sympathetic Peter who is more concerned with finding his mother than leading any Lost Boys. Mr. Jackman, who gives his pirate a theatrical flair, seems to belong in a darker movie while Mr. Hedlund is reminiscent of a young Harrison Ford although director Joe Wright suggested he play Hook like a character out of a John Ford classic.
The fantasy, written by Jason Fuchs (“Ice Age: Continental Drift”) and made for a reported $150 million, proves that more can be less and less can be more. This is a prequel, not a retelling of “Peter Pan” as with the 1960 Mary Martin and 2014 Allison Williams TV specials, but its sense of wonder and magic are smothered by its pricey production and ambitious aspirations.
Movie editor Barbara Vancheri: bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632. Read her blog at www.post-gazette.com/madboutmovies.
First Published: October 9, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
