I first saw a preview for Pan when I saw Annie in theaters back in December and my first thought was “seriously, another movie about Peter Pan?” With today’s media already saturated with plenty of other spinoffs like the Disney animated classic Peter Pan, Hook, a live action Peter Pan in 2003 and Finding Neverland, I thought we were pretty well covered when it came to stories about the boy who never wanted to grow up.  I was also frustrated over the fact that Disney seems to be going overboard in creating live action movies for all of their animated movies.  When I found out that Pan was a Warner Bros. picture I had more hope for liking the movie.

I was still on the fence about whether or not I would want to watch the movie, but when I had the opportunity to see it at a free advanced screening, I couldn’t say no.  As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I enjoyed seeing the Pan previews on tv because they had two great songs attached to them.  The screening took place on a Saturday morning and it was such a nice surprise to find out that we would get to watch the movie in 3D.  I am not a big fan of 3D because most of the movies that I have seen in 3D have not impressed me visually so I typically avoid seeing them.  I was almost giddy during the first scene because it was dazzling and I thought finally a movie where 3D is impressing me.

Even though the movie is visually stunning and really spectacular to see in 3D it does not offer much more.  Levi Miller, who plays Peter Pan, is such a delight to watch and I hope that I will get to continue watching him on the big screen.  I was truly impressed with his performance.  While Garrett Hedlund caught my eye more than once I quickly grew tired of the voice he gave to James Hook.  Hugh Jackman certainly looked the part of a creepy & unlikable man but I felt like he was holding back in portraying someone truly evil.  I know that there has been a lot of backlash regarding the casting of a caucasian actress in the role of Tiger Lily and for good reason but I found Rooney Mara was surprisingly charming.

I mistakenly had hope that this movie would impress with the backstory of Peter Pan and James Hook.  We actually find out very little about James Hook and are not given any indication as to why Pan and Hook will go from allies to enemies.  Instead of this movie being full of moments where I thought ok now I understand why this or that happened in the classic Peter Pan story I was left with many questions.  While it would be nice to have these questions answered with another movie I must ask whether or not another story is really necessary.

One of the biggest disappointments for me with this movie was the fact that both of the songs that I loved from the previews were not incorporated into the movie.  In fact, I was incredibly disappointed that the music seemed to be forgotten about and did nothing to enhance the movie.  I had been immersed in the movie from the very beginning but I felt like I was brought back to reality when a song that did not fit the movie was sang by pirates upon Peter’s arrival to Neverland.  As annoyed as I was by the music I was let down even more by the storyline.  As I began to think about the movie in preparing to write this review I realized just how many plot holes this story creates.

Peter Pan is known as the boy who does not want to grow up and Neverland is a place that allows him to stay young or at least that is what I have gathered from seeing the Peter Pan movie and the stage play.  This idea is never touched upon in Pan though we do learn that Blackbeard inhales pixie dust to stay young.  I’m probably the only who will find this odd but how is it that Blackbeard is around to cause trouble during the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and is also in Pan even though they are separated by hundreds of years.  It’s a story created from someone’s imagination so could they not have created an unknown pirate?  Also if Neverland keeps Peter Pan young why does Blackbeard have to work so hard to stay young while living there?  I also find it hard to believe that this brave version of Peter Pan would reject aging in the future.

I realized recently that as much as I love Robin Williams I do not like the movie Hook.  And even though I didn’t dislike Pan I found the movie unnecessary.  I dislike when others decide to write the prequel of a beloved story because to me only those who had the imagination to create a world like Neverland would be able to explain the backstory.  J.K. Rowling has so much knowledge and detail of the world that she created for her Harry Potter stories and I would be livid if others tried to create prequels or sequels to the stories that can only come from her mind.  The other big part of this movie that bothers me is that it creates doubt about the relationship between Hook and Peter Pan who we learn were not always enemies.  I really wish that we could just accept that not all villains need to be redeemed.

I can certainly see why this movie would have an audience since Peter Pan stories have captivated the imaginations of many for a long time.  This is a movie that the whole family can go see which is a rare treat these days.  I would say that if you enjoyed Maleficent you should enjoy Pan.  Also if you go into the movie with an open mind I think you will be quite pleased.  I would give it 3 out of five stars but with so many great movies out in theatres at the moment like The Martian I could hardly suggest you run out and see Pan at the first chance you get.  I was able to attend this screening by receiving tickets given away by Warner Bros.  If you are interested in learning how to see movies for free click here: how to see movies for free