Day 242: "To live would be an awfully big adventure."

I have never been a big follower of the stories of J.M. Barrie's creation: Peter Pan.  Call it the unwavering, closed minded adult in me, it never struck my fancy.  So, on a recommendation from a very good friend, I decided to give the 2003 live action version of Peter Pan a shot.  I'm surprised to say that this was probably the best of the three Pan movies I have seen.  Of course, one of them was just terrible (I'm looking at you Steven Spielberg) and the other was the animated Disney version, so my experience with the story is pretty lacking.  having said that, this one was pretty entertaining.  I always thought of Tinkerbell as just a benign entity, leading Peter on his adventures, but she can be, and is at times, a really heartless bitch.  Jealousy is never pretty, and in a fantasy setting, the bearer can be downright evil.  The story moves at a good clip, only slowing in one or two places to give a little exposition.  My main problem is with the abundance of CGI effects throughout.  I challenge anyone to find a "practical" effect anywhere.  It just looked too..."storybook" perfect for my taste, but the family will really like this.

Jason Issacs, fresh from his role as the deliciously evil Lucius Malfoy in the Potter movies, steals the movie as James Hook and Mr. Darling.  He squeezes every bit of over-the-top evil out of whatever gland he uses for acting here as Hook, and then turns around to deliver a touching role as Mr. Darling; a soft spoken, socially awkward, devoted family man.  It was, hands down, one of his best roles ever, period.  The children  (all of them) were great as well, although the actor playing Peter (Jeremy Sumpter) seemed to be diving too far into the deep end, and came off as fake.  His performance seemed more suited to the stage as opposed to the screen.

This was the best Peter Pan I have seen, but like I said before, I don't have a whole lot of experience with the story to begin with.  Fun, with just the right amount of peril to remain kid friendly, Peter Pan is an excellent choice for family movie night.  Just turn off the lights, turn up the sound system, pop some corn, sit back and lose yourself in the story.  8/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!