Syfy has a morbid need to spend insane amounts of money on re-imagining classic children’s tales by turning them into live-action graphic novels.
And it’s done it again.
There was “Tin Man,” which was more wooden than any metal I’ve ever seen, and then there was “Alice,” which made me want to jump down a rabbit hole and hide.
This time, they’re re-imagining “Peter Pan” with a two-night miniseries that seems to go on forever. But to be fair, “Neverland” is no “Alice.” It’s actually watchable, if only it were cut in half.
“Neverland” isn’t a new take on “Peter Pan” so much as it is Peter’s backstory — which now seems to be a way for a writer to rip off someone else’s work legitimately.
But if you’re going to rip off a story, you may as well steal from the best, which is what “Neverland” has done. Think Dickens, J.K. Rowling and, of course, J.M. Barrie.
Anyway, the action begins before Peter (Charlie Rowe) was Peter Pan. Back then he was more like Oliver Twist — living in a hovel with other young thieves in early 20th century London under the watchful eye of Jimmy Hook, (Rhys Ifans), soon to be Captain you-know-who.
But a giant orb from outer space, which they attempt to steal, and which contains a magical fairy (that looks and acts like she escaped from “Avatar”) explodes them into planet Neverland.
Among the inhabitants of Neverland are pirates led by a pirate queen (Anna Friel) and an American Indian village. Also flitting around is Tinkerbell (voiced by Keira Knightley), giant crocodiles on ice flows, and Bob Hoskins. Damn those exploding orbs from outer space!