Peter is left, as a baby, at an orphanage by his mother: he never sees the letter she leaves for him as it is hidden by the horrible nun who runs the place. World War II coincides with pirates from Neverland kidnapping the boys in the orphanage in order for them to be put to work in Blackbeard's fairy-dust mines. It turns out that Peter may be the prophesied Chosen One (yes, another Chosen One story) to put an end to Blackbeard's reign of terror, aided by likable older prisoner Hook.
So what we have here is a Peter Pan prequel which sets out to answer many of the questions we never asked and, in so doing, raises as many questions as it answers, not to mentioning not answering some of the questions we did ask! At the risk of spoilering, the unanswered questions include why the World War II setting, how did Hook lose his hand, and how did he and Peter become enemies – both of these are left open for the sequel, no doubt, although they'll have to get a move on because, while Peter may be the boy who never grew up, I doubt whether newcomer Levi Miller can pull off the same trick.
There is a lot to enjoy here. The action never lets up for a second, the film is visually stunning with fabulous effects, Hugh Jackman and Kathy Burke are both enjoyably effective pantomime villains, and the rest of the cast are fine (it's good to have a Peter with an English accent for a change, even if the exact location does wander about a bit). There are plenty of nods to the established Peter Pan mythos, with some nice additions. And it is an excellent family film – maybe a bit intense here and there for the little ones, but otherwise solid.
But, for me, it was just a little bit wide of the mark: it didn't quite connect in the way I had hoped it would.
The 3D is fairly successful.
So what we have here is a Peter Pan prequel which sets out to answer many of the questions we never asked and, in so doing, raises as many questions as it answers, not to mentioning not answering some of the questions we did ask! At the risk of spoilering, the unanswered questions include why the World War II setting, how did Hook lose his hand, and how did he and Peter become enemies – both of these are left open for the sequel, no doubt, although they'll have to get a move on because, while Peter may be the boy who never grew up, I doubt whether newcomer Levi Miller can pull off the same trick.
There is a lot to enjoy here. The action never lets up for a second, the film is visually stunning with fabulous effects, Hugh Jackman and Kathy Burke are both enjoyably effective pantomime villains, and the rest of the cast are fine (it's good to have a Peter with an English accent for a change, even if the exact location does wander about a bit). There are plenty of nods to the established Peter Pan mythos, with some nice additions. And it is an excellent family film – maybe a bit intense here and there for the little ones, but otherwise solid.
But, for me, it was just a little bit wide of the mark: it didn't quite connect in the way I had hoped it would.
The 3D is fairly successful.