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oyceterHa, got to see Peter Pan today (saw Cold Mountain yesterday because the theater we were going to watch Peter Pan at had an electricity outage!). I liked it, but with a few reservations.
The bad first: Jeremy Sumpter was, er, not my Peter Pan. Actually, he felt kind of like Jake Lloyd in Phantom Menace, a little too rote or something. I don't know what it was, but the bits of magic in the movie fell flat when he spoke. I also thought the movie relied a leeetle too much on special effects in a way that Peter Jackson managed to miraculously avoid in LotR. Some shots didn't work for me, like the one with them flying past the planets. I also got a little annoyed with Tinkerbell's slightly too obvious kind of humor.
Other than that, I really liked it. It felt like the Peter Pan in my head and makes me miss the book. I don't really remember the Disney version or the Mary Martin filmed play that I watched so often in childhood; I don't even remember the book that much, which I read dozens of times. I loved how the movie had a narrator, and small mentions of things like the hidden kiss in Mrs. Darling's mouth that made me remember not the other two movies, but the book. Neverland was spectacularly beautiful and wild. I loved the Darling family, and the people who played Wendy and Captain Hook were particularly good. Especially Wendy, who had to carry the weight of the movie.
And it managed to capture the melancholy of the book, which I don't think the other two movies really did. That was one of the things I liked about Hook (I know, everyone says it's a horrid movie, but I watched it young and in love with Peter Pan). I liked the thought of Wendy growing old and waiting for Peter to come back for her, except he never does.
The bad first: Jeremy Sumpter was, er, not my Peter Pan. Actually, he felt kind of like Jake Lloyd in Phantom Menace, a little too rote or something. I don't know what it was, but the bits of magic in the movie fell flat when he spoke. I also thought the movie relied a leeetle too much on special effects in a way that Peter Jackson managed to miraculously avoid in LotR. Some shots didn't work for me, like the one with them flying past the planets. I also got a little annoyed with Tinkerbell's slightly too obvious kind of humor.
Other than that, I really liked it. It felt like the Peter Pan in my head and makes me miss the book. I don't really remember the Disney version or the Mary Martin filmed play that I watched so often in childhood; I don't even remember the book that much, which I read dozens of times. I loved how the movie had a narrator, and small mentions of things like the hidden kiss in Mrs. Darling's mouth that made me remember not the other two movies, but the book. Neverland was spectacularly beautiful and wild. I loved the Darling family, and the people who played Wendy and Captain Hook were particularly good. Especially Wendy, who had to carry the weight of the movie.
And it managed to capture the melancholy of the book, which I don't think the other two movies really did. That was one of the things I liked about Hook (I know, everyone says it's a horrid movie, but I watched it young and in love with Peter Pan). I liked the thought of Wendy growing old and waiting for Peter to come back for her, except he never does.
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Re: Who thought "Hook" was bad?
Tue, Dec. 30th, 2003 03:47 pm (UTC)What's amazing is she was supposed be playing an extremely OLD Wendy thirteen years ago, and now she is playing a vigorous Professor McGonegal in the HP series, and pulling off both well!
Re: Who thought "Hook" was bad?
Wed, Dec. 31st, 2003 02:00 am (UTC)The kid actors in HP and Hagrid haven't quite gotten into my head, but whenever I read the books now, I can't help but see and hear Richard Harris and Maggie Smith. Have you seen her in Gosford Park?
I did
Wed, Dec. 31st, 2003 04:18 am (UTC)