It's WWII London. Peter (Levi Miller) was left by his mother on the doorstep of the Home for Boys and he's still waiting for her to return. Kids have been disappearing. One night, pirates come to take Peter and his friends away. Pirate leader Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) has enslaved the boys to mine Pixum, fairy dust, and looking to wipe out all fairies. Peter is made to walk the plank and discovers that he is able to fly. He escapes from Blackbeard with the help of James Hook (Garrett Hedlund) and Smiegel. They are captured by Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara). Recognizing the pan necklace from his mother, she reveals that Peter's mother is Blackbeard's possession Mary. She had fallen in love with the fairy prince and he is the child of their love.
I really like the start of this movie. Peter Pan is brash, mischievous and heroic. I even like transferring the story to WWII which allows for a fun dogfight in the skies of London. Then the movie goes to Neverland and the problems start to pile up. I also like the wild colorful action extravaganza. It does get repetitive during the climatic action scene but the exuberance fits Neverland.
For some reason, the story forces Peter to turn into a self-doubting taciturn. The flying story really hurts Peter's character development. He turns into non-Peter Pan and not even the same character from the first act. Blackbeard is a black-feathered peacock. He's not scary enough. Garrett Hedlund is not flamboyant enough to be Hook. Rooney Mara is perfectly fine as an action heroine but her pale white skin is really distracting. They may as well paint her face as some kind of warpaint like the Maori war paint. Her pale skin is too old Hollywood. I can see a wild Peter Pan movie being made here but the little problems overwhelm it.
I really like the start of this movie. Peter Pan is brash, mischievous and heroic. I even like transferring the story to WWII which allows for a fun dogfight in the skies of London. Then the movie goes to Neverland and the problems start to pile up. I also like the wild colorful action extravaganza. It does get repetitive during the climatic action scene but the exuberance fits Neverland.
For some reason, the story forces Peter to turn into a self-doubting taciturn. The flying story really hurts Peter's character development. He turns into non-Peter Pan and not even the same character from the first act. Blackbeard is a black-feathered peacock. He's not scary enough. Garrett Hedlund is not flamboyant enough to be Hook. Rooney Mara is perfectly fine as an action heroine but her pale white skin is really distracting. They may as well paint her face as some kind of warpaint like the Maori war paint. Her pale skin is too old Hollywood. I can see a wild Peter Pan movie being made here but the little problems overwhelm it.