I've gotta admit....I'm cheating a bit on the summary. I have never read J.M. Berrie's story "Peter Pan". But, my oldest daughter has and sat with me to watch this film and contributed a lot to the review--telling me how close and how different the story and film are. While this movie version is MUCH more adult than the cartoon, the book apparently is even more adult--such as having Peter apparently kill the Lost Boys when they get too old for Neverland! Yes, this IS NOT a story for little kids! In this version of Peter Pan, the story is quite a bit different from Disney's famous cartoon. Captain Hook kills quite a few people, Tinkerbell is even nastier and the film shows the depressed mom pining for her children after they've disappeared. The book, apparently, was darker. What is much different from the book, though, was the emphasis on romance between Wendy and Peter--as, in the book, Peter had little interest in this sort of thing and just wanted to play and live in the moment. I think they added this sexual tension (ewwww!) to try to make the story more cinematic. I think despite this, the film did strike a decent balance between the darkness of the story and how dark to make the film--but I would NOT recommend the film for younger viewers.

One final word about the film. Despite good acting, too often I was distracted from this because of all the crazy filters that were used on the print. I am not sure if this was added later using computers (I assume this is the case),but too often it really was hard on the eyes and distracting.

Verdict---worth seeing and MUCH better than "Hook". Still, despite being very different than the book, give me the Disney version.

This film is amazing. I also really like the Disney film, but I was really unimpressed by its sequel. Both this and the Disney film are superior to the sequel Return To Neverland, and I also recommend the animated TV series Peter Pan and the Pirates, with Captain Hook at his most complex.

I have only two flaws with this film. First, it isn't as complex and meaningful as the book by J.M.Barrie, which I think is one of the best children's books ever written. Secondly, likewise with Bobby Driscoll, the voice of Peter, in the Disney film, Jeremy Sumpter mayn't be to everyone's taste, as he doesn't quite live up to the playful and rather likable character in the book, but it is still a spirited performance.

However, this film has a huge amount to recommend it. First of all, is the gorgeous scenery and the cinematography. Such beautiful and vivid colours, that left you in wonder and wanting more. I also liked the fact, the producers made the film darker than the book to some extent, like making Hook more complex and more suave, an idea that they didn't quite explore in the Disney film. The acting was very good indeed. Rachel Hurd Wood is the picture of innocence as Wendy, and Richard Briers does more than a capable job as Smee. Plus Ludivine Sagnier was awesome, one of my favourite interpretations of Tinkerbell actually. Stealing the acting honours, like Dustin Hoffmann, like Hans Conried, like Tim Curry(in the animated series),is the wonderful Jason Isaacs, in a sometimes terrifying portrayal of Hook. And seriously he should have got an award for his brilliant performance. The music score was lovely too, very fantasy-like and sparkling.

In conclusion, a beautiful film, not as good as the book, but there is a lot to enjoy here. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is a much more sexualized Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood),and Aunt Millicent (Lynn Redgrave) wants to teach her while banning her from the nursery. She is on the edge of becoming a woman. Mr Darling (Jason Isaacs) is trying to climb the social ladder. On her last night in the nursery, Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter) and Tinker Bell (Ludivine Sagnier) intrude on their lives.

There is a lot of talk of kisses. Wendy is resisting the pull of adulthood but there's something happening between her and Peter. It seems to be taken a different tack on the never growing up aspect. It is diving right into the teenage hormones pool. It is a rather dangerous swim seeing how Rachel Hurd-Wood was no more than 12 at the time. In the end, they pull back before anything truly scandalous happened. It's quite a risky proposition to sexualize a children's fantasy. It is darker and not really the same as the Disney classic that everybody knows about. This one did it in a tasteful manner. The CGI especially Tinker Bell looks great. Ludivine Sagnier is actually able to act as a member of the cast. Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan is too effeminate. I think it's the curly hair. Everybody else does a good job. It's a darker Peter Pan movie with an edge.