Peter Pan & Wendy Gives Fans A Serviceable Reimagining That Doesn't Fly As High As Previous Adaptations

      With any live-action Disney remake, the main objective should be to not only bring their classic animated counterparts to the screen in a form that's larger-than-life, but do so in a way that remains completely faithful while adding to their respective stories. With Peter Pan & Wendy, Disney revisits the timeless classic tale of the young magical boy who refused to grow up with the results being reasonably satisfying. While the newest live-action adaptation has moments where it soars, including a strong devoted performance from Jude Law as Captain Hook, it fails to outdo previous screen versions with the latest effort amounting to be an honorable retelling, though lacks the thrills of previous iterations of the story.

      Peter Pan & Wendy's plot has a young girl, Wendy Darling, meeting a young boy named Peter Pan, who refuses to grow up. He brings Wendy, her brothers, and Tinker Bell back to the magical world of Neverland, where they counter an evil Pirate Captain named Hook. Bearing the same plot as the 1953 animated classic, Peter Pan & Wendy approaches the story with a more personal tone while adding surprise twists regarding Hook's backstory, and his past relationship with Peter. Although it doesn't completely work, there's more to appreciate about this latest retelling with it's devotion to the original being undeniable, as well as its attempts to expand upon the stories mythology which make it an honorable reimagining.

       As far as performances go, Peter Pan & Wendy's cast demonstrate a clear understanding of the assignment and play their parts exceptionally well. Both Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson deliver impressive work as Peter Pan and Wendy, with their performances being among the films strongest with them showcasing some fairly strong chemistry. Along with their work, it's Jude Law who demonstrates pure class in playing Pan's arch-nemesis, Captain Hook. Law brings his A game here and does a stellar job of playing a vengeful antagonist while also creating a complexed human side to him. The rest of the cast give noteworthy performances including Alyssa Wapanatahk as indigenous warrior-woman and Peter's elder sibling Tiger Lily, who watches over the Lost Boys of Neverland. Other notable additions include Jim Gaffigan as Hook's boatswain Mr. Smee, Joshua Pickering, Jacobi Jupe, Molly Parker, and Alan Tudyk as Wendy's siblings and mother John, Michael, Mr. And Mrs. Darling. As a whole, Peter Pan & Wendy's cast works nicely as a terrific ensemble while bringing a commendable amount of dedication to their roles. However, it's Molony, Anderson, and Law generating the most interest among audiences.

      As far as directing goes, David Lowery gives the story a majestical feel that'll sweep audiences into a new world that's full of wonder and Pirates. Lowery's work is involving with the director's artistic vision shining through as evidenced by several visually striking sequences including a boat  flying in the air and being turned upside down, or a swordfight between Pan and Hook, which includes the presence of a giant crocodile. Despite being a children's story, the violence is shown to be standard swashbuckling with Lowery making sure to include bits of humor into the film like one instance in which a pirate yawns "Wake me up when one of them kills the other...again." When it comes to the films tone, Lowery makes the story feel personal with the musical score being vivid in enhancing the emotions on screen. At 106 minutes, the film never feels slow-moving and keeps everything moving briskly from the moment Pan and Wendy's siblings fly to Neverland. In bringing the story of Peter Pan to the big screen once again after being done numerous times by other filmmakers, Lowery keeps the narrative focused while placing his own visual stamp on the story.

      With the script, Pan & Wendy explores the concept of growing up being a great adventure despite the enormous difficulties of doing so. Other themes touched upon include leaving one's home, friendship, and experiencing change. One noteworthy addition to the story is the backstory given which explores the past friendship turned rivalry between Peter Pan and Captain Hook with Wendy's character dealing with the realization that she must grow up and assume her prescribed roles in society such as her parents wishes for her to attend boarding school. Unlike other previous versions of the classic story, this one gets more psychological with the characters while providing answers to longtime questions that fans have like why is Hook so angry and vengeful towards Peter, the latter's desire to remain a child forever, and Wendy slowly facing adulthood. Although this version of the story is darker than others, it aspires in making advances to character growth with Wendy, Tinker Bell, and Tiger Lily's characters being strong-willed along with wielding power. Despite the admirable attempt to make the stories female characters appear stronger than the male ones, it's the trio arc between Peter, Hook, and Wendy that make the newest version even remotely engaging to watch.

      Of all the different adaptations of Peter Pan's story that's been brought to the big screen, this is arguably the moodiest with it attempting to give a more complex study of these characters while making some bold shifts with an already well-established narrative.  It doesn't always succeed in it's risk-taking nor is it as memorable nor iconic as Steven Spielberg's underrated 1991 masterpiece Hook or 2003's Peter Pan, but it does right by the original 1953 animated classic in updating its story for modern audiences. Just don't expect it to stick in the brain long after it's over. 

Final Verdict: An honorable reimagining that's watchable but never leaps to greatness. See it but once. 

Images Courtesy Of Disney

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Has James Gunn Delivering Fans An Emotionally Satisfying Finale To His Breakthrough Sci-Fi/Action Trilogy

      Very rarely do blockbuster movie franchises end on a high note without doing a disservice to the films that came before it, but filmmaker James Gunn succeeds in beating the odds with Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 finally making it's way to theaters and delivering an emotionally satisfying finale to a ragtag group of misfit characters, who've grown to become a noteworthy staple for the MCU.

      Picking up where Vol. 2 left off and taking place after Avengers: Endgame, Vol. 3 has Peter Quill, (Star-Lord), rallying his team to save Rocket from an old enemy, as well as the universe in a mission that could potentially spell the end of the Guardians if not successful. With Vol. 3 marking the end of the Guardians franchise, Gunn wastes no time in raising the steaks here and delivers an emotional backstory to Rocket's character that's often tough to watch. Although nothing tops the first Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 3 manages to comfortably surpass Vol. 2 with the story being a clever mixture of heart, laughs, and a poignant tale regarding both friendship and family. It's the ideal finale that fans wanted the franchise to have while establishing Gunn as being one of the strongest Hollywood filmmakers working today. 

      As far as performances go, Vol. 3's cast kills it with each actor and actress perfectly matching their counterparts to the point where both operate in sync with each other. Chris Pratt makes for an ideal Peter Quill/Star-Lord with the latter shown to be devastated over the loss of his deceased lover Gamora, with her reemergence conflicting with his governing of the Guardians. Zoe Saldana is equally terrific as Gamora's varient, now serving as the leader of the Ravagers. Saldana does a fine job of playing a hardened Gamora, who has no recollection of her past life with Peter's team, yet becomes conflicted with wanting to help them fulfill their mission while uncovering the truth about her past. Both Pratt and Saldana's chemistry remain spot-on with the audience feeling the depression that Quill's character experiences with Gamora not remembering their relationship. Dave Bautista and Karen Gillan are terrific as highly skilled warrior Drax, and Gamora's adoptive sister Nebula, whose slowly healing psychologically from the abuse and torment that she experienced at the hands of her father, Thanos. The rest of Vol. 3's cast give scene-stealing performances with Pom Klementieff being fantastic as Guardians member, Mantis, whose Quill's half-sister and carries empathic powers, with Bradley Cooper providing the films heart as the genetically engineered raccoon-based bounty hunter, Rocket, and Noah Raskin voicing the character's infant version. Along with the Guardians ensemble, Will Poulter is strong as Adam Warlock, a powerful artificial being created by the Sovereign to destroy the Guardians with Chukwudi Iwuji dominating as Rocket's evil creator, the High Evolutionary, who seeks to forcibly enhance all living beings into a "special race."

With Gunn returning to the directors chair, he keeps everything consistent in regards to quality and atmosphere while maintaining the same Zany style humor that dominated the previous  Guardians films and gave it such a warm experience for fans. As far as the action and violence goes, this is the darkest film in the series with Gunn showcasing several scenes that demonstrate a characters PTSD regarding his past experience, which includes both experimental and animal torture with the rest of the films Sci-Fi action being destructive. In terms of overall visual look, Guardians manages to avoid the criticism that recent MCU films have received with their effects looking rushed and unnatural. At 149 minutes, Gunn keeps things moving relatively steady with the story and characters being placed front and center. Like the previous Guardians, Gunn once again knocks it out of the park with the soundtrack consisting of catchy tracks including Radiohead's classic Creep, along with The Flaming Lips Do You Realize, and Reasons by Earth Wind & Fire that help establish the stories tone. With Vol. 3, Gunn delivers an experience for audiences that's as equally funny and heartwarming as it is visually stunning.

      Some of the key themes explored in Vol. 3's story include teamwork, perseverance, and courage with Quill's team working together to save Rocket regardless of what challenges lie infront of them. Here, Gunn prioritizes giving more insight to Rocket's background including relationships with childhood friends that places the audience on the hook emotionally with his character arc. Along with making Rocket's backstory central to the plot, the script also tackles Peter's character being devastated by the loss of Gamora with him showing visible heartbreak and frustration towards her not remembering anything regarding their past. Gunn supplies the film with a healthy amount of the franchises trademark juvenile style humor, which includes a clever usage of the MCU's first F-bomb. Although the new film is the darkest of the trilogy, the themes that made the series feel so personal to audiences regarding friendships and family come into strong focus here and serve as being the heart of the story with it also marking the series most mature entry.

       While it may upset fans that the franchise is coming to its long-awaited end, they'll be pleased with the way it goes about wrapping things up. As a film that's meant to bring the Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise to a fitting close, one can't imagine a better finale to the series than the one that Gunn presents here with the newest installment being tremendously fun to watch while packing an emotional punch. Not only is Vol. 3 the best one since the first, it's one of Marvels strongest films to come out of its most recent phases with it recapturing some of the lost magic. In retrospect, fans couldn't ask for a better conclusion to James Gunn's remarkable superhero space franchise. 

Final Verdict: A must see for Marvel fans.

Images Courtesy Of Disney

Renfield Delivers A Sizable Bite But Will Leave Audiences Entertained Yet Feeling Underwhelmed

      When one imagines a camp-driven horror comedy that's centered around the character of Dracula, there's no better fit for the role other than eccentric thespian actor Nicolas Cage. Add to that, a bold twist to the traditional story regarding Dracula's loyal servant Renfield and what audiences have is a clever concept with bankable stars that's extremely difficult to miss. What audiences end up getting however, is a reasonably fun yet somewhat underwhelming horror-comedy blend that works just well enough to entertain audiences, despite never fully utilizing it's concept to maximum potential. 

     In this modern reimagining of the classic Dracula tale, Renfield has Dracula's decades-long henchmen and fellow inmate at the lunatic asylum, longing for a new life away from the Count given the latters various demands, and the endless amount of bloodshed that comes with them. Renfield boasts a catchy concept along with the proper bizarre actor to play Dracula (Nicolas Cage), yet it quite often leaves something to be desired. As a modern monster tale that's focused around the character of Dracula and his loyal servant, the filmmakers provide an experience that works as being cheesy, strident, and ridiculously funny to watch although the end result never seizes the opportunity to completely capitalize on its catchy concept nor make the most usage of its whacky main star in a role he's perfectly suited for.

      Much of Renfield's energy as a fun comedic spin on the Dracula story comes from the casts enthusiastic performances with the latter consisting of popular A-list stars like Cage, Nicholas Hoult, and Awkwafina. Hoult does a terrific job with carrying the bulk of the film as Dracula's loyal servant, whose desperate to extricate himself from his toxic master. He conveys all the right mannerisms required to play his character, and shows a redeemable side to Renfield despite the horrific commands carried out at the request of his master. Cage brilliantly hams it up as Dracula with his presence being delightfully fun to watch despite feeling a bit minimal in comparison to Hoult and Awkwafina's screentime. Despite this, Cage eats up the scenery with him playing the role with the necessary amount of camp demanded while having an absolute blast in doing so. Awkwafina impressively holds her own against both as New Orleans Police Officer, Rebecca Quincy, whose struggling to do the right thing while serving under a corrupt police department as well as being Renfield's love interest. The actress not only hits all the right notes with her character but displays surprising levels of emotion that not just suits her character, but adds a touch of family drama to the story. The rest of Renfield's cast consist of strong character actors who deliver terrific work like Ben Schwartz as Teddy, mob enforcer and son of matriarch mob boss, Bellafrancesca, with Shoreham Aghdashloo as Teddy's powerful mother, Adrian Martinez as Rebecca's co-worker Chris, and Brandon Scott Jones as Renfield's support group leader, Mark.

With Renfield's directing, Chris McKay does a decent job of bringing the world of Dracula to life while giving it a modern day approach. Although the films overall look feels standard, McKay goes to the extreme with the amount of blood shown in the film with the violence intentionally being executed in comical fashion. Audiences are treated to numerous volcanic blood spurts including limbs and intestines being torn and spilled out. While the violence is presented as being over the top, it serves to reinforce the stories monster elements. At 93 minutes, Renfield is fast-paced and moves briskly while never being long enough for audiences to get bored. While there's nothing remarkable about McKay's directing, he delivers the appropriate tone for the story while doing a noteworthy job of blending the films horror and comedy elements together smoothly with neither overlapping. 

      When it comes to scriptwriting, Renfield's story ranges as being serviceable with its straightforward narrative regarding Dracula's henchmen trying to part ways from his toxic master while learning that garnering enough support will bring contentment. Other key themes at play within the films story are corruption with Awkwafina's character struggling to be a good cop in an increasingly corruptible environment, loyalty as Renfield must choose between obeying Dracula or making a change for the better given that his character experiences loneliness while serving under Count until meeting Rebecca. With Dracula's inclusion, one expects his character to be front and center to the story with a powerful arc established for his character. Sadly, that isn't the case here as he feels a bit shortchanged in terms of screentime with Renfield providing the heart and soul of the story along with Rebecca having a bigger role. As a whole, Renfield's writing gets the job done in delivering the type of film that audiences expect to see, but there's very little here that doesn't feel as if it's been lifted from other films with character beats and subplots introduced feeling familiar in addition to Renfield's characters narrative device being done to death in other stories. With a film that includes Dracula as a  key central figure in the story, it's disappointing that the writing surrounding him feels rather underwhelming.

      Despite its misgivings, the film is at its most effective when focused on Hoult, Cage, and Awkwafina's characters with the latter serving as its saving grace when the others aren't around. As a story that's meant to deliver campy fun while throwing a slick modern day spin on the mythology of Dracula, Renfield offers up a satisfying gory experience with Cage's corny performance being the sole reason to see it. It's a shame however, that audiences aren't given more of him. 

Final Verdict: Watchable mainly for the performances of Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult.

Images Courtesy Of Universal Pictures