Joe Wright is one of best British actors around and has delivered some great film such as Pride & Prejudice and Atonement... sadly, that run came to an end earlier this year with the release of Pan.
Pan
I have to admit, Pan was one of the autumn movies that I was looking forward to as I am a huge fan of the Peter Pan story. However, the film did not live up to my lofty expectations and it was a movie that was mauled by the critics and is one of the biggest box office flops of the year.
While it pains me to heap criticism on Wright, Pan is in at number eight in our countdown of the Worst Films of 2015.
Pan is inspired by the original tale by J.M. Barrie but explores the origins of Peter's story, how he came to Neverland, and how he became the iconic character, Peter Pan.
I was looking forward to Pan because it was a new spin on the Peter Pan story - which we have seen done quite a few times over the years. You are with the story for the first twenty minutes, but then it descends into a jumbled mess that will leave you very disappointing.
I must say, the special effects are just fantastic and the world of Neverland is beautifully brought to life before your eyes. But it soon becomes style over substance as the story and the characters take a backseat to how the movie looks - which is a major shame.
It turns out that Pan brought nothing new to the Peter Pan story and is a movie that we didn't really need - which is not how I was expecting to feel when I settled down to watch this film. Joe Wright has brought us a string of films that have had character and story at its heart but all that is missing from Pan.
The plot is paper thin at best and it really does lack the sparkle and the magic that we have come to associate with this story. The film goes back over very familiar ground and offers very little in terms of new additions to this already well-known tale.
Wright brought together a wonderful cast as the likes of Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, and Garrett Hedlund on board. Sadly, a bunch of very talented actors are made to look very ordinary. We don't often see Jackman play a villain, but he is given nothing to really get his teeth into - it really break my heart to see this Oscar-nominated actor giving his all in such an awful film. Even his talents are not enough to save Pan and done nothing for him.
He and the rest of the cast do the best with what they are given. But when the plot is non-existent and the characters are these uninteresting 2D creations, there's not much that they can do.
I also have to ask, why was Rooney Mara cast as Tiger Lily? Don't get me wrong, Mara is a fantastic actress, but Tiger Lily is a Native America. Are you telling me they could find a more suitable actress for this role?
Pan really was one of the biggest misfires of 2015 and there is very little that you can say in praise of this film. So far, the movie has grossed $125.8 million - it had a budget of $150 million.
Take a look at our Worst Movies of 2015 countdown so far: