The Peter Pan tale is an eternal favorite that infuses just a little bit of magic into everyday life, for those who don’t want to grow up. It is rich cinematic territory that has been frequently mined on the big screen: Steven Spielberg put a modern spin on the tale with “Hook,” in 1991, and now Joe Wright has spun his own version of the tale, an origin story of Peter Pan himself.
While it is positioned as a modern take on the classic, “Pan” doesn’t take place in present day. Peter (Levi Miller) lives in an orphanage in World War II London, under the watchful eye of evil, greedy nuns and the blasts of German bombs during the blitz. He’s an inquisitive boy who asks too many questions for his own good, which leads him to wonder where some of his fellow orphans are disappearing to in the night.
Turns out the boys are being trafficked into forced labor, kidnapped by clown pirates into a flying ship that battles Royal Air Force planes before it blasts them into space to the fantastical island of Never Never Land. There, they must mine for fairy dust crystals, sing Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and submit to the will of a vain, greedy, preening Blackbeard the Pirate, played, fiercely, by Hugh Jackman.
After an incident, Peter is disciplined and forced to walk the plank, during which his fledgling flying abilities kick in. This brings the unwanted attention of Blackbeard, who is convinced Peter is the subject of a tribal prophecy — the boy who is the product of a human-fairy union who will lead the rebellion against him. Peter links up with a swaggering cowboy he’s met in the mine, one James Hook (Garrett Hedlund), and they take off in a stolen flying ship to find the tribal territory with warrior princess Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara). They have hopes of finding Peter’s mother, whom he is convinced is present in some form.