Pan

Amid the glut of cinematic prequels and origin stories comes Pan, a stylish but ill-conceived adventure inspired by the classic characters of author J.M. Barrie that needs more than magic pixie dust to rescue it.

In depicting the world of Peter Pan prior to Neverland, the film shows more ambition and imagination than a straight remake of the frequently adapted source material. Still, most of the changes simply don’t work, and the result is more spectacle than substance.

The story tracks the beginnings of Peter (Levi Miller) as a mischievous 12-year-old orphan in London, where he dreams of being reunited with his mother. When he’s magically whisked away to the fantasy world known as Neverland, he sees it as a welcome diversion from his troublemaking routine.

He begins work as a miner alongside an adventurer named Hook (Garrett Hedlund), who becomes an unlikely ally when Peter almost immediately runs afoul of a ruling pirate named Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) and is forced to flee. Blackbeard’s methods are ruthless – “Neverland is a dream from which you never wake,” he tells Peter, who gains the power of flight along the way.

Eventually, some familiar names pop up to help Peter’s quest, including waifish warrior Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara) and the firefly fairy Tinker Bell.

Children might identify with the precocious courage of its idealistic and resilient protagonist. And indeed, newcomer Miller gives an endearing and expressive performance. However, the story might be too dark and scary for smaller kids. The film opens with a mix of fantasy and reality set against a wartime backdrop from a youngster’s perspective, and the sequence in which Peter and others are magically transported to Neverland is harrowing.

In the hands of director Joe Wright (Atonement), the film is a technically proficient effort with terrific visual effects and dazzling production design. It’s colorful and fast-paced, even aside from the airborne scenes.

However, some of the ideas in the screenplay are just bizarre, like the anachronistic music numbers featuring songs by Nirvana and the Ramones, or the cartoonish appearance and portrayal of Blackbeard by Jackman.

Loud and lumbering, Pan seems like a transparent attempt to launch a franchise based more on financial than creative rationale. Just because this Barrie is fresh doesn’t mean it’s edible.

Rated PG, 111 minutes.