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Review by: Jack Foley | Rating:
Two
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: Learning To Fly; Deleted scene and alternate
ending; Board The Pirate Ship; Tinker Bell: Behind The Fairy Dust;
Me and My Shadow; Lost Boys On The Set; Complete Tour of Neverland;
Regions 2/4.
JM Barrie’s classic children’s tale, Peter Pan, first
premiered on a London stage 100 years ago, so to mark its centenary,
cinema audiences are now treated to what is being described as
the first fully-realised movie version.
And it’s a lavish affair, which consistently entertains,
thanks to some winning performances from its adult cast, who serve
to ensure that it won’t just be the children who are Hook-ed.
Jeremy Sumpter stars as the boy who never grew up, who whisks
Rachel Hurd-Wood’s Wendy Darling and her two brothers off
to Never Never Land for a series of adventures, while trying to
avoid the attentions of his nemesis, Captain Hook.
But while the children do a credible job of keeping things lively,
it’s the adults who steal the show, with Jason Isaacs on
suitably sneering form, as the scheming Captain Hook, and Richard
Briers typically excellent as his bumbling assistant, Smee.
Director, PJ Hogan (of Muriel’s Wedding fame), proves quite
adept at keeping things spellbinding for the really young, while
remaining true to the origins of the story, and injects a great
deal of verve and imagination into his set pieces.
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The film looks stunning, throughout, from the early scenes, in
London, to the children’s flight to Never Never Land, while
all of the classic elements which made Barrie’s story so
timeless remain intact, complete with the ticking crocodile, who
has developed a fondness for Hook’s flesh.
Whereas Steven Spielberg sought to gain mileage by making the
story contemporary, and having Peter Pan grow up (in the form
of Robin Williams), Hogan seems content to keep things traditional,
and it is the old-fashioned approach which serves it so well.
And while Sumpter’s Peter Pan may appear more cocky and
self-centred than cheeky and likeable, his performance didn’t
seem to trouble the children at the press preview, who lapped
up his swashbuckling endeavours with gleeful abandon.
The film is actually at its weakest when left to the children,
despite a plucky turn from Hurd-Wood, largely because of Peter
Pan’s blandness, but it comes alive in the presence of Isaacs,
who embraces the spirit of the role with relish.
Whether plotting his next move with Briers’ Smee, or mixing
it up with Peter Pan himself, Isaacs makes the role his own, so
much so that adults may actually find themselves rooting for him!
And Briers excels, too, capturing the look of Smee perfectly,
and delivering the movie’s one show-stopping line, which,
quite literally, brought the house down at the screening.
Ludivine Sagnier, as the mischievous fairy, Tinkerbell, also
appears to be having fun in her tiny role.
With Harry Potter ducking out of the limelight this Christmas,
Peter Pan looks to be the children’s ticket for anyone not
old enough to see The Lord
of the Rings. It does an efficient job of ensuring that Barrie’s
classic story can be enjoyed by a new generation.
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