Film Preview: Pan (2015)

Page Revisions:

(December 7, 2014) Original
(May 24, 2015) New Trailer (#2) / New Poster (#5)
(August 30, 2015) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#6-#10)
(October 4, 2015) New Posters (#11-#14) / Updated Release Date (changed from 7/17/15) / Added Image Gallery

Release Date:

October 9, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny — to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.”

Poster Rating: B- (4) / B / C+ / B (4) / C / C+ (3)

Review: (#1-#4) Four distinct, but background-deficient character posters lead off the designs for this fantasy film. Only Tiger Lily’s poster plays into the colors of her outfit. The others seem dependent on trying to be different from all others, but ultimately lacking substance.

(#5) Quite a bit more creative than the character designs. It conveys the sense of wonder the producers are aiming for without all the cheesiness from the trailer.

(#6) The slanted style of action/adventure films needs to find its way to a quick grave. A tedious waste of visual energy that doesn’t do as much heavy lifting as it’s intended. The image works to sell the film itself, it doesn’t need to be tilted. (#7-#10) These three character posters do precisely what they need to do, distinguish the characters while creating a cohesive whole. In spite of each having different settings and different poses, the construction and layout matches just enough to link them all.

(#11) A busy, bloated design with an abundance of jumbled colors that doesn’t blend well enough together to deserve inclusion. (#12-#14) These three character posters would work better if they didn’t seem so fake. We have four characters with backgrounds that not only don’t seem natural, but feel like they were inserted so that the characters were in places and shots they never were, which adds to the disjointed feeling of them.

Trailer Rating: C+ / C- / B

Review: (#1) It’s hard to know what more diabolical film this could be were it not so family friendly. With genteel humor, non-horrific incidents and a general tempered feel, Pan looks like both an accessible film and a horrid adaptation.

(#2) It looks like a colorful mosaic of excitement and spectacle, but it also looks like one of the worst written, worst acted fantasy blockbusters in ages.

(#3) Establishing the film as more of a genuine fairy tale than just a kid-targeted adventure saga, the producers have made a conscious effort to try and appeal to a broader demographic and hopefully entice more than just families to the theater. The acting is still pretty awful and the stunts aren’t particularly original, but it should be sufficient to bolster attendance.

Oscar Prospects:

I could see the film getting nominations for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. It could even get some nods in other tech categories. Beyond that is doubtful.