In a movie packed with intense sword fights, colossal crocodiles and monster birds, the most interesting part of “Pan” was Cara Delevingne as a mermaid. Even at that, she was in the movie for less than 10 minutes, her facial expression did not show any sort of emotion and her mermaid body was poorly animated.

“Pan” was released Oct. 9, presenting itself as a prequel to the classic children’s story, “Peter Pan.” I was expecting to be overwhelmed with nostalgia, as “Peter Pan” was one of my favorite movies as a child. Instead, I found myself lounging back in the theater, hoping the seemingly endless hour and 51 minutes would be over soon.

It started off fine, casting a monotone filter over London, blurring the lines between animation and reality, showing what appeared to be Peter’s mother leaving him at an orphanage. It went on to show how Peter was treated poorly by his hosts, even going as far as to rip up the only letter he had from his mother.

As soon as the movie progressed out of the orphanage, things turned from sub-par to unbearable. Somehow, Mother Barnabas summons pirates to take Peter and other troublemakers to Neverland as punishment, where he must mine for fairy dust for Captain Blackbeard.

After insulting one of Blackbeard’s men, Peter is forced to walk the plank, where he learns for the first time that he can fly. With his new found courage, Peter and his friend and fellow miner, James Hook, steal a flying ship and escape Blackbeard’s rule.

They fly to a forest, where they meet the native tribe, specifically Tiger Lily, who informs Peter that he is the son of the Fairy Prince, explaining his ability to fly when he has “faith”. Connecting dots, Tiger Lily says their greatest hero’s name was Pan, thus leading to Peter’s last name. Also, Peter’s mother rejected Blackbeard, earning his wrath, which is why she had to give him up to the orphanage.

From this point on, the movie consists of only poorly executed fight scenes between the pirates and Peter, Hook and Tiger Lily. However, it is revealed that Blackbeard murdered Peter’s mother.

In the end, it shows Peter meeting a ball of light with legs, which was supposed to be Tinker Bell, and they become friends. Peter has a vision of his mother, appointing him as Never Land’s greatest hero. They defeat the pirates, and proceed to rescue the rest of the children from the orphanage, naming them The Lost Boys.

Following the plot of the movie was not an easy task, as there was too much going on at any given moment.

Although it did make correlations to the original movie, it left one major gap. How do Hook and Peter end up hating each other? I guess we will never know. Unless they turn that into another hour-and-a-half train wreck.

The special effects were less than average, it reminded me of something you would see in a Disney Channel original movie. Nonetheless, “Wizards of Waverly Place” did a better job of illustrating magic than a $150 million budget film did.

Needless to say, “Pan” left me underwhelmed, confused and a little irritated that I spent $12 to see it.

by HALEY BALLESTIN