Review: ‘Pan’ brings something new, fresh and a bit weird to the classic story

Posted on October 16, 2015

By MARK VIOLA

It’s a common complaint these days that there are very few original movies made anymore, when theaters are filled with reboots, remakes, sequels and prequels. So imagine my surprise when I left “Pan,” director Joe Wright’s (“Atonement,” “Hannah”) prequel to the classic Peter Pan story, thinking I had just seen one of the more original movies of the year.

Sure, it’s based in part on J.M Barrie’s famous characters, but the screenplay–at one time a citizen of the Black List, which showcases the best unproduced scripts–
turns nearly everything we know on its head, giving us a strange, action-filled and surprisingly compelling adventure. It’s not a perfect film to be sure, but it is a fun one, with some oddities mixed in which keep you on your toes.

Although the cast has some big hitters, including Hugh Jackman (“Wolverine”) as Blackbeard and Rooney Mara (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) as Tiger Lily, it is young Levi Miller as Peter who carries the movie at its emotional core.

Wright, whose career has been mostly period pieces, gave use the exceptionally weird and fun teenage assassin film “Hannah,” and there’s a vein of that same weirdness here, reminiscent of the works of Gore Verbinksi (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Rango”). This can turn off some folks, but I always appreciate a bit of weird. There are a few moments here where the weirdness seems to be there for its own sake, with little or no explanation, which can be distracting, but overall, it is a fun time.

The film is rated PG for fantasy action violence, language and some thematic material.

(This is a shortened version of the full review available in our printed or e-edition papers.)

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