Peter Pan & Wendy review The new Peter Pan & Wendy trailer reveals more from David Lowery’s film

Of the many things director David Lowery understands about Peter Pan, the most important is this: it was never about Peter himself. While The Boy Who Never Grows Up was the only billing title in the 1953 Disney adaptation, JM Barrie’s 1911 retelling of the story was titled Peter and Wendy – and in Disney’s live-action reimagining of Lowery, Wendy Darling finally gets her star status.

Peter Pan and Wendy it is therefore less a matter of rethinking than of acknowledging that first of all it has always been Wendy’s story: that of a girl who is about to take the first step out of childhood, who has a terrifying adventure in a night in which Peter Pan appears in his house. window and takes her and her siblings to an imaginary land. Lowery was previously the source of the excitement at Disney. Pete’s dragon remake, but is more associated with metaphysical odysseys such as the green knight AND a ghost story; this may be the hottest children’s director-director duo since Spike Jonze wondered where the monsters live. The director revels in the thematic essence of Barrie’s story, investing not only in Wendy’s impending coming-of-age, but also in the haunting undercurrents of children not growing up and adults whose inner children are dead.

This consideration extends to cinema itself. Early on, Lowery’s camera pans across the bustle of the Darlings’ home in a sweeping tracking shot; the flight of the children in Neverland is vividly captured, the children half fly and half swim towards Big Ben, plunging into a timeless void in a thrilling experiential fulfillment. Reconstructing iconic images: Peter chasing his shadow around the crib; Hook looking at monstrous crocodile (now kaiju sized) – There’s a clear consideration in how everything is interpreted. And while Neverland itself lacks the rich colors of the 1953 version, its open spaces and overgrown rides are beautifully captured by Bojan Bazelli’s earthy cinematography.

Ironically, however, Peter Pan and Wendy lack of youthful spirit. While Lowery is clearly comfortable with the melancholic elements of storytelling, his understanding of fantasy isn’t as strong. Instead of going into adventure mode once the kids arrive at Neverland, the movie morphs into an expansive drag-and-drop central act. It doesn’t help that Jude Law’s Captain Hook feels let down. Despite a thrilling entrance, which literally pushes its way into the film, it’s not funny enough: not the skilled villain of the 1953 film, nor the pantomime performance of Dustin Hoffman in Learn. Like his floppy toupee, Law’s performance falls eerily flat, struggling to live up to luscious lines like “I found you guilty of being a kid!” When a dramatic thread emerges that connects Hook and Peter in fascinating ways, Law is excellent; except with the yo-ho-ho.

Unfortunately, not even newcomer Alexander Molony can fill Peter’s pointy green boots. It’s a monumental task, to play an endlessly effervescent energy, afflicted with the pain of never growing beyond: Molony is better in the latter, but his performance lacks the effortless agility, childish hate meant to define the reckless spirit by Peter. Combined with Law’s internalized performance, it all feels a bit small: witnessing a chapter in the pair’s eternal battle is rarely as compelling as it should be, and likely won’t hold the attention of children.

Much safer, however, is Ever Anderson’s Wendy, not only the emotional heart of the story but happily transforming into an action hero when the film finally shifts into a more playful gear in its fearless finale. She captures this precipice of adolescence perfectly, not yet ready to lay down the wooden sword, but also sensing a new door ready to open. It’s a message beautifully delivered in some flip-book montages that frame the film; in fact, the emotional landing is perfect. It’s emblematic of an adaptation that, for all of her well-executed ideas of hers, seems a little too eager to grow.