Pan

Despite Jackman's expert theatricality as Blackbeard and a few thrilling 3D scenes, Joe Wright's interpretation of how Peter becomes Pan is an uneven mess that may impress kids but not parents. Hedlund does an almost note-for-note impression of John Huston-meets-Harrison Ford (as both Indiana Jones and Han Solo) to play the reimagined Hook, an American miner with a good sense of humor. He's the cast's standout, and Jackman also looks like he's enjoying hamming it up as the Big Bad Blackbeard. So, yes, the acting is fine -- but the script and the direction are confusing and off the mark. At a few points, it seems like Wright is trying to channel Baz Luhrmann with eyebrow-raising sing-alongs to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (which Luhrmann memorably used in Moulin Rouge) and the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." These songs don't fit in either thematically or plot-wise; they're simply bizarre.

At least there aren't any insensitive depictions of "Indians" in this installment; instead, Wright goes for a pan-ethnic group of indigenous people from around the globe (with Mara presumably playing Tiger Lily as an indigenous Hiberno-Saxon with a posh English accent). Mara is quite luminous, but none of the actors can save Pan from the bland characterization and occasionally boring story line that may leave audiences uninterested instead of actively engaged in what happens to Peter and his friends. That's not to say young audiences won't find it entertaining, but teens and adults will likely leave theaters underwhelmed.