Last night we rented NEVERLAND from RedBox and upon coming home I spot previewed the titles before my wife came down, and since it advertised several SCIFI channel films, such as the dreadful RIVERWORLD, I thought I had chosen poorly. (See IndyJones and Last Crusade). So when we began to dig into this, the casting of Bob Hoskins as Smee was a surprise jolt!!! An homage to HOOK by old Spielberg. OK, good casting. Then Kiera Knightly as voice of Tinkerbell. OK, a knod over to Pirate of the Carribbean. Better still.
Then we forgot the world for 4 hours straight!!! We never do that, but this one HOOKS you, pun intended, and takes the viewer for a surprisingly intelligent ride into fact and fantasy. I shall not give plot points away, enjoy this one yourself, but it is even better than the PETER PAN of a few years ago. It catches all of the plot points that BEGAN the story quite well. Rhys Ifan is almost a younger David WARNER in every respect and Charlie Rowe makes Pan a living, breathing young boy straight out of the world of Dickens in Edwardian London. Anna Friel - a charming, sexy counterpoint to the pirate legend. And Hoskins, only a six day shoot as Smee, bring a welcome touch of nostalgia for the show.
We did not get tired at all. 4 hours right through which we never do, only Sir Francis Urqhart in the classic HOUSE OF CARDS trilogy was so compelling. And this is a smart tale too. Again, intelligent thought and writing here.
Find it, clear the decks, grab some rum and splice the main brace for a wonderful evening just off the second star to the right straight on till morning.
