Peter Pan & Wendy

Peter Pan & Wendy
Starring Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Jude Law, Yara Shahidi
Directed by David Lowery

Back in the day Disney was known for their animated catalogue of films, most of which were based on classic beloved children's novels like "The Little Mermaid" and "Alice in Wonderland," taking the darker overtones of the original and making it more kid friendly. In recent years they've gone through their back catalogue and turned their beloved animated classics into live action, which mostly have failed to re-ignite that sense of nostalgia. "Peter Pan" is one such film, a live action remake that takes away from the heart and soul of not just its source material, but the 1953 animated movie as well.

Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson) and her younger brothers John (Joshua Pickering) and Michael (Jacobi Jupe) are spending their last night at home together before Wendy is shipped to boarding school the next day, and she wishes that she wouldn't have to grow up. Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) hears her wish and arrives with Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi) and take the Darling children to Neverland and his Lost Boys, and Wendy becomes enamored with Neverland. Meanwhile, the evil Capain Hook (Jude Law) is out to find Peter and his Lost Boys to kill them, and their feud affects Wendy and her family as they get caught in the middle of the fight between a boy who won't grow up and a Captain who grew up the wrong way.

The Good:
Jude Law plays Captain Hook as more than just a villain for the sake of being a villain, but has a more in-depth backstory concerning Peter and issues he endured as a child which gives him a more rounded feel, even giving audiences a ping of sympathy for the character. Law is always a professional and he gave it his all in this case, despite the overall lackluster nature of the film.

Some of the set designs were really well-established, especially the ship during the final action sequence.

Much like the overall concept of the original novel, "Peter Pan & Wendy" focuses on a kid's desire to not grow up, then realizing that growing up could, in fact, be the greatest adventure. It's something that tugs at the heartstrings and helps us - even as adults - understand the importance and the joy of growing up.

The Bad:
Overall, "Peter Pan & Wendy" is a forgettable live action remake of the classic original, offering little to nothing in the way of it being memorable for either good or bad. It merely exists in the vacuum of cinematic space, playing it safe in its careful storytelling to appease children and adults, and in doing so they'll bore children and adults. Out of the numerous remakes and re-tellings of the classic J.M. Barre tale, this one is easily the most forgettable.

Alexander Molony is a newcomer who's first major role is playing the titular Peter Pan, so it's difficult to say that he didn't do a good job - but he didn't do a good job. His Peter Pan had no exuberance, no excitement, no charisma whatsoever. This is probably because of the way this film connects his relationship with Captain Hook, but it doesn't do him any favors and leaves audiences wondering who would want to follow this forever child.

Ever Anderson's Wendy is stock-character personified, a young girl who doesn't want to grow up but realizes the importance of it after seeing Peter's reckless endeavors with Hook, and eventually finding her own strength. Again, there's nothing to write home about and nothing memorable about her performance that sets her apart from other Wendys in other iterations.

The cinematography was choppy and dark, with numerous scenes so darkened you couldn't really see what was going on, and the action sequences were too childish even for a children's movie, making the whole thing look like something you'd see in a high school production rather than a big budget blockbuster.

David Lowery is one of the most underrated directors of our time, gifting audiences with the likes of "Ain't Them Body Saints," "A Ghost Story," and the stellar "The Green Knight," but here it seems that he totally phones it in (despite him saying this was his most personal project, which he also co-wrote). It might not be his fault, as his script does have some deviations from the Disney original that he seemed to want to focus on, but the Disney execs just wanted a cheap cash grab and pulled the reigns on his writing style to more fit their generic agenda.

The Verdict:
Offering nothing exciting that sets it apart from the countless other outings of the iconic eternal child, "Peter Pan & Wendy" fails to elicit any response other than yawns as both children and adults will find themselves dulled by the boring product, and no amount of fairy dust can change that.

The Score: C-