Pan

I watched the movie because I like fantasy as such. I had no idea, though, that the not very popular world of Neverland would influence me so much as to make me detest the whole movie. The actors aren’t the reason why you should watch this movie. Neither is the world, which is a combination of everything and anything, including the Caribbean pirates. On the other hand, I appreciate that somebody wanted to film a proper fantasy because all of it looks very nice, expensive, and apparently also high-quality. It’s a pity, though, that the creators had to stick to the world of Peter Pan, who is apparently more popular around the world than in the Czech Republic. The creators could have afforded to take a risk and come up with something new and unique for that amount of money. But here you can see that not even an established brand can salvage a studio. Even when it is otherwise filmed pretty nicely. If you see no other reason to watch this movie, believe me when I say that the cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” will demolish you. For a while, I kept thinking about where I know the melody of the song the kids are singing from and after a while, I realized it was Nirvana. And you don’t see that in a fairy tale every day. I wonder what Kurt Cobain would have said. (01.01.2017)

The fairytale, which does not become a staple, but has a soul so sincere that a single look into Peter's eyes was enough for me to know that I was once again that same lost boy as years ago in Neverland. The biggest surprise is the absence of a direct continuation of the classic story, and the characters' motivations are less heated within a more family-oriented approach, but the transformation into almost classically cut adventure show does not harm J. M. Barrie's characters in any way. The most principled fans of the original will probably struggle with a singing Hugh Jackman, but I had no hope of resisting him. After all, I still believe in fairies and in the irreplaceable magic that their dust brings. (09.07.2016)

Ich hatte Joe Wright als den Regisseur atemberaubender Verfilmungen von Literaturklassikern eingeschätzt - Atonement - Abbitte und Stolz und Vorurteil sprechen für sich. Daher setzte ich größere Hoffnungen in Pan als in Peter Pan aus dem Jahr 2003 (der zwar nicht schlecht, aber mittelmäßig war), obwohl ich von Wrights vorheriger Anna Karenina nicht allzu beeindruckt war. Was ich jedoch nicht erwartet hatte, war das Ergebnis, das ich im Kino sah. Die Neuverfilmung von Barries Stück ist ein übermäßig albernes und modern angehauchtes Sammelsurium von etwas ekelhaft Buntem ohne jede innere Konsistenz, was angesichts der großen Namen, die den Film umgeben, wirklich schade ist. Ich war noch nie ein Fan von Nirvana, aber das Cover von "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in einem Film wie diesem fand ich doch etwas irritierend. Ein sehr großer Flop auf vielen Seiten, mit dem kaum jemand gerechnet hat - ich schon gar nicht. (19.03.2016)

I didn't know exactly what to expect from this film and what I ended up getting is... contradictory. The cast is wonderfully chosen, Rooney Mara is excellent, visually it's a beautiful spectacle, but still, it felt immensely flat to me, essentially just a film for show, where what a Peter Pan story should have - the enchantment of childhood and that beautiful carefree feeling - was missing. It just wasn't here. (11.12.2015)