Weekend Watch: Peter Pan & Wendy, Polite Society

A re-imagined Disney adventure and a wholly original story of martial arts and marriage

Image Credit: Disney+

Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, a young woman confronts growing up (and pirates) while another battles family issues (and evil plots) Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite

After last year’s hugely disappointing Pinocchio (even more unfortunate given the presence of talented people both in front of the camera (Tom Hanks) and behind it (Robert Zemeckis), I wouldn’t blame you for being cautious about the next Disney animated-classic-to-live-action conversion job Peter Pan & Wendy, even if it does represent a relatively easy proposition, sitting there on Disney+ waiting for you.

Let me reassure you, however, that this is a much more worthwhile time on the sofa than that benighted previous effort. David Lowery, the (usually) indie stalwart behind A Ghost Story, The Green Knight and The Old Man & The Gun (the latter being my favourite of his work so far) has already played in the Disney space, bringing us the charming and welcome Pete’s Dragon.

Peter Pan & Wendy represents a bigger challenge: JM Barrie’s story (originated as a play in 1904) has been adapted approximated 59,000 times (give or take through the years), but Lowery and co-writer Toby Halbrooks have found a way to add layers and extra emotional depth.

The basics remain the same: this new adaptation once more introduces us to Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson), a young girl on the verge of leaving her family and childhood home behind to attend boarding school. One night, Wendy and brothers Michael (Jacobi Jupe) and John (Joshua Pickering) meet Peter Pan (Alexander Molony), a boy who refuses to grow up.

Alongside her brothers and a tiny fairy, Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), she travels with Peter to the magical world of Never Land. There, she encounters an evil pirate captain, Captain Hook (Jude Law), and embarks on a thrilling and dangerous adventure that will change her life forever.

A lot of the other elements have been retained, but likewise given some special twist. The Lost Boys –– and girls –– are still the assorted kids Peter has recruited through the years, but they and Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatâhk) are a pleasingly diverse bunch, and while they don’t get much to do beyond as supporting characters, they also don’t feel wasted.

Anderson (daughter of Milla Jovovich and director Paul WS Anderson) is an excellent, spirited Wendy, more than carrying the lion’s share of the narrative, while Molony is a decent Pan, even if he initially appears to be the victim of CG face-smoothing (once the action shifts from a slightly muddily shot nighttime London to the bright cliffs and forests of Neverland, that improves).

Law does a good job as Hook, though he can’t quite breathe as much life into the character as you might expect or hope for. Still, once he digs into the character’s expanded backstory (I won’t ruin it here), he finds something more to play.

Mostly, these Disney conversions need to justify their existence, and ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ more than makes the case for it to sit alongside the 1953 animated classic. Lowery might not want to make too many of these, but one in between a few of his own unique projects would be a welcome balance. And personally, I’m happy to see that this new adaptation means Disney hands some more money to Great Ormand St. Hospital, a place very dear to my heart.  

Peter Pan & Wendy is on Disney+ now.

Image Credit: Focus Features

If you’d rather not watch the latest adaptation of a well-trodden tale, then let me recommend an original story from a fantastic filmmaker. Polite Society represents the first movie from We Are Lady Parts creator Nida Manzoor (you can find it on All4 in the UK and Hulu in the States, and you should), and it marks her once again as someone to watch.

Polite Society is the story of Ria Khan (Priya Kansara), a bolshy British schoolgirl and martial artist-in-training who dreams of becoming a world-renowned stuntwoman (and has been emailing her favorite working example, Eunice Huthart, about the chance for an internship). Her teachers don’t believe in her, and the school bully (Kovacs, menacingly brought to life by Shona Babayemi) consistently mocks and defeats her.

Yet family issues are also diverting her attention –– Ria’s big sister and best friend Lena (Ritu Arya) is at a crossroads in her life: she’s preparing to give up on her dreams by dropping out of art school. To make matters worse, she meets and falls for attractive geneticist Salim (Akshay Khanna) and is quickly engaged to be married. But with that seeming happy ending comes horror for Ria –– the couple are planning to move to Singapore after the wedding.

Ria’s world is shaken. She believes she must save her sister from the shackles of marriage in the only way she knows how –– by enlisting the help of her friends and attempting to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of freedom and sisterhood. She’ll have to put all of her martial arts training into practice to challenge Salim’s mother Raheela (Nimra Bucha), who she’s convinced has dark designs on Lena.

Playing like an Edgar Wright film (particularly Hot Fuzz or Scott Pilgrim) but defiantly its own thing, Polite Society is stuffed full of relatable characters, impressive action and entertaining needle drops. Manzoor has a cast boasting rising stars and established character types and it’s so welcome to see a film about (in this case) a Pakistani family that isn’t all about traditions or immigrant struggles. Instead, Manzoor finds a fresh way into a comedy drama such as this.

Sadly, the film also faces stiff competition from bigger releases (Marvel’s latest behemoth is on the way next week), so I’d urge you to check out something with its own voice and point of view so talented types such as Manzoor can have the chance to keep making films.

Polite Society is in UK and US cinemas now.