The Jungle Book (2016)

Summary 
The man-cub Mowgli flees the jungle after a threat from the tiger Shere Khan. Guided by Bagheera the panther and the bear Baloo, Mowgli embarks on a journey of self-discovery, though he also meets creatures who don't have his best interests at heart.

Genre : Adventure
Country : USA

Cast : 
Neel Sethi : Mowgli

Bill Murray : Baloo (voice)
Ben Kingsley : Bagheera (voice)

Director : Jon Favreau

My opinion

“No matter where you go or what they may call you, you will always be my son.”

Of all fairy tales adaptations I've seen so far ("Maleficent", "Snow white and the huntsmen" and "Jack the giant slayer"), this animated movie (it looks lifelike but it consists mainly out of groundbreaking digital animations) is the the most dazzling one. I don't want to sound too excited and shower Jon "Chef" Favreau with all the superlatives that I can think of for his directing work of , but in short this film was fantastic. Not only did this film throw me back to my childhood when my innocent eyes wandered over a large picture book and sympathized with the little Mowgli (Neel Sethi). But as an adult, I also stared at this beautiful film dumbfounded.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this restyled Disney version and I can't think of a single thing to criticize. Everything looks lifelike. The jungle and overall scenery made out of millions of pixels, is phenomenal. The inhabitants of this jungle look stunning. At times I doubted whether they were digital creations or the real thing. Even their character traits are conforming. And in between all these animal activities, one single human creature moves around. Looking at it afterwards you can easily say this was a superhuman performance of this little guy. Because successfully navigating in between these digitally created fellow players wasn't easy I reckon. In terms of empathy, this young lad thrills. It's not only the design department who'll walk away with the honors. It's also the character study and the perfect mix of action and philosophical, emotional moments that make it appealing to all ages. The boundary of creepiness wasn't exceeded (my daughter thought it was terribly exciting though) and it isn't really childish at the same time. I honestly have to admit that during the wonderful scene with Mowgli and Baloo singing "The Bare Necessities", I had to wipe away an upcoming tear. Pure nostalgia.

The movie hardly deviates from the original, well-known story so to speak. According to me the only part that differs was the denouement. In my youth book, lightning struck a tree and Mowgli drove out the terrible and dangerous Shere Khan with a burning branch. Also some new features are introduced. The daily life of the pack of wolves is illustrated in detail. Certain laws were incorporated into the story such as "The Water Truce" that takes effect the moment a terrible drought occurs. And here and there are some amusing additions like the favor Mowgli does for Baloo during which he uses his human ingenuity to solve the problem. The comments of the agitated, little animals on the whole operation was extremely hilarious. And there are some masterful scenes in this film. I was most impressed about the chapter in the beautifully rendered temple where a colossal King Lowie reigns.

Not only a lot of energy was put into the visual aspect, but also in the voice cast. It felt like all voices of the elected actors fit perfectly with their characters. To bring this to a succesful conclusion, they chose renowned actors: Ben Kingsley (Bagheera), Bill Murray (Baloo), Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Lupita Nyong’o (Raksha), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa) en Christopher Walken (King Louie). I was most impressed by Christopher Walken who apparently also has a very firm singing voice. The most amusing was that of Bill Murray. Not because of his timbre of course, but because of the textual content. So, nothing but praises for this embellished Disney Classic. Perhaps the movie isn't as enchanting as the original and the end result is a more exciting and darker version. I'd be glad when Disney would dig out the other classics, dust them off and transform them into such a visual spectacle as this wonderful film.

My rating 8/10
Links : IMDB

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Summary 
Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment. When they arrive a man named Rom who works for Leopold attacks the village they are at and captures Tarzan and Jane. With the help of Washington, an American who accompanied Tarzan, he escapes and sets out to rescue Jane by going across the jungle and Washington joins him despite being told that he might not make it.

Genre : Adventure
Country : USA/UK/Canada

Cast : 
Alexander Skarsgård : Tarzan/John Clayton

Samuel L. Jackson : George Washington Williams
Margot Robbie : Jane Clayton

Director : David Yates

My opinion 

“Bring it to me.
Bring him to me.
And you shall have your diamonds.”

Once and a while my mother allowed me to choose a comic strip at the store when I was a small boy. I always opted for a Tarzan comic strip. It appealed very strongly to my imagination at that time. That ruler of the jungle who used lianas to travel and who ruled over those wild fellow residents of the jungle. Even films from the old days with Johnny Weissmuller captivated me. Weissmuller was more impressive compared to this Tarzan. I'm talking about the size of his thorax and those developed biceps and triceps. Tarzan in this movie is a tad less muscled and he's already adapted to modern society. No "Me Tarzan.You Jane" conversations. He rather listens to the name John Clayton (Alexander Skarsgård). A distinguished English gentleman who walks around gallantly on two legs and speaks eloquently to his fellow men. He's civilized, in other words.

And then there's Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) who explores Africa while looking for valuable diamonds to fund the expansionism of the Belgian King Leopold II. Rom is a determined globetrotter who won't let anything stand in his way so he can reach his goal. There's one obstacle between him and the valuable diamonds. And that's Chief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou) who only wants one thing in exchange for those precious diamonds. And that's Tarzan. Time for Rom to forge a plan and lure the lord of the jungle in a clever way to the dark African continent. The jeering jungle dweller is being accompanied by his lovely wife Jane (Margot "Focus" Robbie). Something else to be worried about.

Is "The Legend of Tarzan" a bad movie? No, not really. But it isn't an excellent movie either. It sometimes looks a little bit out dated. Even though Tarzan is placed in a totally different zeitgeist and his attitude towards the natives in Africa isn't so explicitly authoritarian anymore. Even Jane isn't such a sensitive screaming blonde in distress, who runs out of the jungle the moment a tiny wild animal shows itself. Ultimately, the film unfolds itself like a typical Tarzan story in which the terror of the jungle has to rescue his wife out of the hands of the bad guys. That's how it also was portrayed in comics and the older movies. Lets say, it's not such a legendary movie.

Admit it. Tarzan doesn't look like he could withstand the primal force of the Mangani and actually he should have ended up as a comfy carpet in some hut in the bush after receiving such hammer blows of this fearsome attacker. But I could live with that. After all, he's a legend. This film is about THE legend. An unassailable and invincible superhero whose status reached iconic proportions. Clearly noticable was the unconvincing look of the group of gorillas. Compared to "The Jungle Book", the CGI of the wild animals sometimes really looked miserable. Then again, the flock of ostriches advancing in a "Jurassic Park" kind of way, were beautifully designed. The thing that went over my head (probably because I'm thinking with a rational mind), was the way they were chasing the speeding train. The way those lianas made sure they caught up with it, was mindblowing. What ingenious system was constructed to achieve this? I couldn't figure it out immediately. But it still looked really ridiculous.

"The Legend of Tarzan" is suitable material for a cozy movie night . There's sufficient action to enjoy. And Samuel L. Jackson has been recruited to provide the comic relief. Margot Robbie looks breathtaking again as the "lady in distress." And the confrontation between Tarzan and the tribe of Mbonga was brilliant until the digitized gorillas appeared on screen. The easiest part was played by Christoph Waltz. He just had to play himself again. A great actor, but he's stuck in the same routine lately. Despite everything, Tarzan was,is and remains a vibrant legend.

My rating 5/10
Links : IMDB

The Lost Reviews Part 1 : The Revenant (2015)

Summary :
While exploring the uncharted wilderness in 1823, legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass sustains injuries from a brutal bear attack. When his hunting team leaves him for dead, Glass must utilize his survival skills to find a way back home while avoiding natives on their own hunt. Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald, the former confidant who betrayed and abandoned him.

Genre : Adventure/Drama
Country :USA/Canada/Taiwan

Cast :
Leonardo DiCaprio : Hugh Glass
Tom Hardy : John Fitzgerald
Will Poulter : Bridger
Domhnall Gleeson : Captain Andrew Henry

Director : Alejandro G. Inarritu

My opinion :  

It's about time I gave my opinion on a number of films I've watched a while ago. I didn't have the time for that yet. Or was it just because I didn't feel like writing about them? It's not because they were aweful and totally crap. Far from. But quite simply because they were already extensively praised by other movie buffs. So here it is. A short and modest opinion.

"I ain't afraid to die anymore. I'd done it already."

You have movies with bloody scenes so exaggerated that it actually becomes laughable. Take for example "The hateful Eight". Liters of blood spatter around in this film. It's not really meant to be funny but it isn't shocking either after a while. The key moment in "The Revenant" however, is so incredibly realistic and bloody painful to behold. A dashing exploit of CGI and choreography. The interplay between DiCaprio and the computer animated bear had to be meticulously coordinated. I think this required some scrupulous work, resulting in an impressive battle scene. Had it been a real-life, trained bear, I'd give this bear an Oscar.

Now Leonardo DiCaprio snatched the coveted statuette away from the bear. In my opinion Leo deserved it, but not specifically for this film. I have no doubt that the circumstances this film was made in, must have been heavy and mostly inhuman. The extreme cold in the icy landscape over there in the far north and the difficult primitive conditions of life for these trappers weren't faked images. But for DiCaprio there wasn't much acting involved during the largest part of the film. Mostly it was just groaning with a lot of splashing spittle. Although he did this in a very convincing way. His facial expression showed his feelings. No need for heaps of words. So he's not a chatterbox as in "The Wolf of Wall Street". That's the movie he deserved an Oscar for, in my opinion.

"The Revenant" is the ultimate survival film. A brilliant film about the struggle between man and nature. A beautiful film, full of fascinating images, that slowly takes the form of a revenge movie. The revenge Hugh Glass wants, is the thread running through this film. A film about a profound willpower and perseverance. A survival film that easily surpasses essentially all other similar films. The scene with the horse is pretty hallucinating and a pinnacle of inventiveness when it comes to survival skills. This film being based on a true story, makes it all the more impressive. In my opinion this film can be added to the list of other legendary films.

 

My rating 8/10
Links : IMDB

Deadpool (2016)

Summary :

A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.

Genre : Action/Adventure
Country : USA

Cast :
Ryan Reynolds : Deadpool
Ed Skrein : Ajax
Morena Baccarin : Vanessa

Director : Tim Miller

My Opinion   

You're probably thinking, "my boyfriend said this was a

superhero movie but that guy in the red suit just turned
that other guy into a fucking kebab!"
Well, I may be super. But I'm no hero.

Despite the feeling of satiety when it comes to superhero movies, I still had to see this new hero from the Marvel stable. Now, you didn't need much to persuade me to watch it. Certainly not after I saw the revealed trailer last year. Immediately I was convinced that this could become a mega blockbuster. It was so brilliant and witty. Trust me, I was sick and tired of the world of The Avengers, X-Men and Super/Spiderman. Besides "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Ant-Man", most superhero movies were just a copy from the previous episodes. Another storyline but with the same principle. "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Ant-Man" and "Deadpool" are an exception to that rule. A refreshing breeze through the superheroes universe.

Right from the opening credits you know what to expect. A mixture of bluntly, spectacular action and sharp, unabashed humor. "Deadpool" is "some douchebag's film" and as protagonist "God's perfect idiot" with "a hot chick" to take revenge on "a British villain" with the help of "a moody teen" and "a CGI character". Produced by "asshats", written by "the real heroes here" and directed by "an overpaid tool". You can read this during the opening shot with the camera zooming out in slow motion during a devastating carcrash. Maybe it's not high-level humor, but it's an indication that you shouldn't take it all seriously. A crossfire of sarcastic, sexual and provocative one-liners throughout the whole film. Deadpool is an outsider at all levels who uses both self-deprecating and offensive text lines. The humor is sometimes as explicit as the violence used in the movie. Graphic violence with well thought sarcasm is exactly the combination I love the most.

Ryan Reynolds could drop his acting talent, since he wears the Deadpool mask practically the entire movie. I have no doubts about his abilities as an actor. Certainly not after seeing him in "Mississippi Grind" and "Woman in Gold". The mediocre movies in which he turned up ("RIPD", "Safe House" and "Green Lantern") were from a significantly lower level. But this was certainly not due to Reynolds, but rather because of a measly movie script. In "Deadpool" physical stamina, agility and speaking skills are more important than acting skills. His greatest merit is his perseverance to get this Deadpool project realized, despite the resistance of the Marvel despots. After a cameo in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", his obstinacy and the enthusiasm of the Deadpool-supporters made sure this film was realized. Thank God for that!

I include this highly entertaining and over-the-top movie in the list of most successful movies of the year. For all I care they can think up a few sequels, even though I thoroughly hate sequels. As long as the concept stays intact and both humor and action are of an equivalent level. "Deadpool" fascinated me so much, that even the presence of Gina Carano didn't bother me. Ed Skrein showed again that he's cut out for a role as crazy villain and that participating in a monstrosity as "The transporter refueled" was a misjudgment. One thing is clear though. Haven't you seen this flick? Put on a red latex suit, place yourself in front of a widescreen television and have fun with this unpretentious, anti-hero.

My rating 8/10
Links : IMDB

The last Witch Hunter (2015)

Summary :
The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including Kaulder, a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful Queen Witch, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the Queen curses Kaulder with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife.

Genre : Fantasy/Adventure
Country : USA/China/Canada

Cast :
Vin Diesel : Kaulder
Rose Leslie : Chloe
Elijah Wood : Dolan 37th

Director : Breck Eisner

My Opinion 

“Today we both die.

I curse you with life.
To never know peace.
To walk the Earth alone for eternity.
You will never die.”

Isn't it fun when some old-fashioned witch hunting is being used in a typical action-fantasy film. The last time I saw a duo at work who wanted to nip this venom in the bud, was in "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters". The latter was a mediocre film, with the proportionally balanced curves of Gemma Arterton raising more enthusiasm than the film itself. In "The Last Witch Hunter" such a person isn't included, but in return Vin Diesel was willing to appear. And that's a guarantee for bloated body parts. In this case the muscles of this walking wardrobe.

The film needs to warm up just like a real diesel. Once this is done, it switches into a higher gear. Although I think it shifted into high gear, because it threatens to derail once and a while. The intro shows a group of medieval bearded men, armed with grotesque, primitive weapons. One of them is Kaulder (Vin Diesel) who lost his family because of the plague. These warriors plan to eliminate the Witch Queen who summoned this curse. Kaulder succeeds. But before the Witch Queen dies, she curses Kaulder to an eternal life. Flash forward to today's society. We see Kaulder furiously (yep) driving a flashy sports car and living in an expensive penthouse where he enjoys his passion for beautiful women. In between he still tries to get rid of witches. 

 

What follows is a fairly fuzzy story about a conspiracy to bring the witch queen back to life. Kaulder tries to prevent this from happening with the cooperation of the not so evil witch Chloe (Rose Leslie). The witch hunter is also assisted by a person of a medieval organization called the Axe and Cross, an ancient brotherhood of priests. The assistant is a priest called Dolan (Michael Caine). When this counsel is apparently murdered, his successor jumps in to help (Elijah Wood). Yep, you can say it's a chaotic story.

My opinion about this average movie is short and concise. The best thing this film has to offer, are the sometimes dazzling special effects. And that's about it, because the rest is really too sad for words. Uninspired acting (except that of Rose Leslie who took care of some humor) with a dead boring, emotionless Vin Diesel and overly geeky Elijah Wood whose white turtleneck irritated me throughout the film. That night I had more nightmares about this horrible clothing than about those nasty looking witches. "The last Witch Hunter" isn't really exciting so to speak and sometimes it comes across as implausible. Diesel's jugglery with some ancient rune stones aboard an airliner, to control a storm, is such an example. Pretty laughable. All in all I rather see Vin appearing in a movie like "xXx", so he can flex his muscles again while producing that primitive growling of his. Apparently there's a sequel in the making. I'll probably let that one magically go past me.

My rating 3/10
Links : IMDB

Goosebumps (2015)

Summary :
Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah, living right next door. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach's comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine, the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange... he is a prisoner of his own imagination - the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books.

Genre : Adventure/Family
Country : USA/Australia

Cast :
Dylan Minnette : Zach
Odeya Rush : Hannah
Jack Black : R.L. Stine

Director : Rob Letterman

My Opinion 

“It's like stop trying to be Stephen King, man.
Let me tell you something about Steve King.
Steve King wishes he could write like me, and I've sold way more books than him,
but nobody ever talks about that!”

Lets organize a pleasant afternoon and watch a soft horror movie with the whole family. Why wouldn't we use the oeuvre of R.L. Stine? This writer wrote a whole series of books known as the famous Goosebumps. And to circumvent the obstacle of choosing a book, they just used all of them in the same film. What you get to see is a horde of horror figures, planning to destroy the human world. From small, annoying gnomes to a giant grasshopper. There are some less successful creations and there are also some highly amusing creations like Slappy, the Yeti and the werewolf with basketball shoes. The end result is a Jumanji-like kids-movie in which the main actors must do their utmost best to straighten out this crooked situation.

 

I wasn't really impressed though. Probably because I'm not part of the target group. The bland romantic part and the attempt to make it adventurous, obviously wasn't meant for me. It might be a bit too scary for the youngest among us (although it wasn't overly creepy). Pubers however might think it's a bit too soft. I appreciated the rare moments when the humor became tremendously sharp and shrewd, like the opening scene and the Stephen King remark for example. Even the humorous interactions of the scrawny little fellow Champ (Ryan Lee) who tries to fix everything along with Zach (Dylan Minnette) and Hannah (Odeya "The Giver" Rush), was acceptable. The only thing that started to get on my nerves after a while, was him using that effeminate scream for the umpteenth time.

"Goosebumps" guarantees an entertaining afternoon at the local cinema for young people. Even adults who accompany them, could have some fun with it. There are some memorable parts such as the werewolf fragment in the supermarket. Long time since I've seen such a perfectly choreographed scene where real actors and animated characters interact with each other. Blood-curdling exciting and flashy. Yep it gave me goosebumps. Unfortunately in the end it turned into a real mess. It was a bit too much of everything. A flood of Stine's literary creations. And Jack Black, who plays the grumpy hermit Stine, stuck to his routine of not being funny. It's probably me, but if you want me to be depressed, just let me watch "School of Rock". Success guaranteed.

"Goosbumps" won't be such a huge success as a fantasy and horror film. It seemed to me that the idea to cram Stine's creations into the same movie, wasn't exactly the most brilliant idea. The best is the enemy of the good. Fortunately, they didn't use this idea for the Harry Potter books. Perhaps the creators biggest intention was to promote reading a book again. Maybe they partially succeeded in that. Unfortunately this self-promotion also worked disadvantageous when you look at the special effects and the story structure. All in all it's a must see for ten year olds. Maybe I re-watch it with my son in five years. He can have his uninhibited opinion about my humble opinion!

My rating 4/10
Links : IMDB

In the heart of the sea (2015)

Summary :
In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. "In the Heart of the Sea" reveals the encounter's harrowing aftermath, as the ship's surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive.

Genre : Adventure/Biography
Country : USA/UK/Canada

Cast :
Chris Hemsworth : Owen Chase
Benjamin Walker : George Pollard
Cillian Murphy : Matthew Joy

Director : Ken Kwapis

My opinion  

“The tragedy of the Essex is the story of men. And a Demon.”

When I was young, I had a huge reading book about Moby Dick. I gazed at the rich illustrations for hours and eagerly I read about the adventures of Ishmael aboard the Pequod. And I can still see the final drawing before my eyes, with Captain Ahab hanging in the ropes of his harpoon against Moby Dick diving into the ocean. Maybe my expectations were too high for "In the Heart of the Sea" and I hoped to see a similar scene. Unfortunately, it wasn't really a movie about a battle between man and whale. It was more something like "Stranded". But taking place on sea. The rivalry between Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain Pollard (Benjamin Walker) was more interesting than the whaling itself. And did you watch the trailer? Well that means you have already seen the most impressive images of the psychopathic white sperm whale.

I'm sure it was more exciting and terrifying for sailors in those days as it is for film fans watching this movie. Imagine them sitting in a wobbly little wooden rowing boat, throwing that gigantic harpoon at a huge sperm whale which swims under their boat. And after that, they needed to get that colossus on board to collect that precious whale oil. A raw material which was necessary in the 19th century to keep those lamps burning. The film begins at the port of Nantucket around 1819. Chase tells his pregnant wife he's signing in on the Essex to go hunting for whales and that he probably won't be in time to witness her giving birth. Beautiful computer-generated images show how daily life looked like in those days. Only Chase's dream to be captain of the Essex is harpooned (how appropriate) immediately. The job goes to one certain George Pollard. Not because of his extensive knowledge and experience in terms of floating around on such a large boat, but because of the fact that he's a descendant of an aristocratic, wealthy family.

The film includes three successive storylines. First, there's the competition between Pollard and Chase. After that the two fighting cocks bury the hatchet when the crazy white sperm starts attacking them. And then the defeated survivors reconcile while drifting hopelessly around on the ocean, a few thousand miles from South America in rowboats, after the Essex sank. And there's a witness of this story namely Thomas Nickerson (Tom Holland) who's a shipmate. He's (Brendan Gleeson) now the last witness of this shipwreck. He tells the complete story, after much encouragement, to Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw), who uses these notes afterwards, after subjecting it to a thorough censorship and keeping the rough lines, for his successful novel "Moby Dick". And so the circle is complete.

In terms of decor and images, this film is quite magnificent. The raging sea with his pounding, foaming, giant waves. The stately ship that cleaves through the ocean. The views of the medieval harbor town and the decoration of Tom's house. And finally the stunning images of a school of whales and the whale hunt itself. Unfortunately the scarred white whale came into the picture far too little. You can compare it a bit with the last Godzilla movie. The monster is there, but there's hardly anything to see of it. The sense of menace and being hunted, was truly there at times. But the insertion of the rounds of conversation between Tom and Herman reduced the pace of this movie drastically. The result is a slow historical drama, instead of a thrilling spectacle at sea with a pseudo Moby Dick in the lead.

My rating 5/10
Links : IMDB

Pan (2015)

Summary :
12-year-old orphan Peter is spirited away to the magical world of Neverland, where he finds both fun and danger, and ultimately discovers his destiny -- to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.

Genre : Adventure/Fantasy
Country : UK/USA/Australia

Cast :
Levi Miller : Peter
Hugh Jackman : Blackbeard
Garrett Hedlund : Hook

Director : Joe Wright

My opinion 

"Have you come to kill me, Peter?
I don't believe in bedtime stories.”

Occasionally I don't mind watching a film adaptation of a fairy tale. I liked the movie "Hook" with Robin Williams in the role of an adult Peter Pan who forgot what it was like in his childhood, a lot. An original alternative to the classic tale of Peter Pan, the boy who never wants to grow up and has exciting adventures on the island of Neverland. "Pan" approaches the story of Peter in a different perspective. It's more about the pre-Peter Pan era where we see him at first as a newborn little baby, abandoned at an orphanage, guided by a gang of nuns who clearly skipped the chapters about charity and compassion in the Bible. The orphanage looks more like a concentration camp where all those little fellows have to live by strict rules and are treated like slaves. The comparison with "Oliver Twist" is inevitable. And to be honest this was the most magical part of the whole movie for me. What follows is a rather bombastic and chaotic story.

As soon as Peter (Levi Miller) is lifted out of his bed, by some pirates hanging on elastics, and he's being hoisted aboard a pirate ship sailing through the air, the film turns into a higher gear. Admittedly, the scene with that ship floating through the air and being chased by fighter planes, looked absolutely stunning. And the unrecognizable Hugh Jackman as Captain Blackbeard is magnificent. A magisterial role and probably the most eccentric character that Jackman has ever played. But unfortunately, the special effects and computer-animated images are so dominant during the film.The magic of the original story gradually disappears and is being replaced by what the current magicians in the special effects department can make up nowadays.

At one point, I looked totally flabbergasted at the screen. Not because of the stunning images and swirling action scenes, but because a crowd of pirates and kidnapped children loudly sang "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from Nirvana. I didn't recognize it immediately. But then I couldn't believe my ears. I never thought that this masterpiece would be used in a fairy tale. And why the hell this song? Was it because"Nevermind" sounds like "Neverland"? Or because Cobain is seen as someone who never wanted to grow up either? I thought and still think it's a bizarre choice of music and I'm sure Cobain will turn over in his grave after hearing the news that one of his songs was used in a fairytale movie. In my view inappropriate and irrelevant.

 

And you can expect a hodgepodge of mixed rarities. An Indiana Jones kind of inmate called Hook (Garrett Hedlund), who of course in a later stage will be the archenemy of Peter, and some beautiful mermaids. And lets not forget the fearsome crocodile. And a native village with residents turning into colorful clouds as soon as they are killed. Also impressive images of ports floating in the air and pirate boats sailing in the air through water bubbles (made me think of a Dali artwork). There's even a moment with Peter Pan orbiting Saturn. So fairly abstract and bizarre at times. But it wasn't real magic. Peter showing of his flying skills is rather limited. Tinkerbell has only a small part in the complete movie. The only thing remaining is a lot of stunt work full of chases and skirmishes.

It's a bit exaggerated. What remains are the excellent performances of Miller and especially Jackman. Not to mention the rather funny contribution by Sam Smiegel (Adeel Akhtar). But despite the superb acting and the successful decors, the end result is still weak. I'm sure there are already plans for a sequel. Something I'm not enthusiastically waiting for.

Hello, hello, hello, how low. Oh well, whatever, never mind.

My rating 4/10
Links : IMDB