4.5 out of 5
Published: Sunday, December 11, 2011
Updated: Monday, December 12, 2011 08:10
 "Photo: syfy.com/neverland")
syfy.com/neverland
Rhys Ifans (left) and Charlie Rowe (right) star in the Syfy series“Neverland.”
The Syfy Channel, perhaps best known for its D-list monster flicks, deserves rare praise for its most recent endeavor. Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with killer Anacondas.
Following Theatreworks' opening of "The Lost Boys," the Syfy Channel debuted its two-part miniseries "Neverland," yet another adaptation of J.M. Barrie's beloved story of Peter Pan.
Two orbs, which function as portals to Neverland, fall into the hands of two distinct groups of people from similarly diverse eras.
The first finds pirate queen Elizabeth Bonny (Anna Friel) and a crew that terrorizes the 18th-century Spanish Main.
James "Jimmy" Hook (Rhys Ifans), a 20th-century English fencing instructor who also serves as mentor to a ragtag bunch of pick-pocketing orphan boys, finds the second.
Among the orphans is Peter (Charlie Rowe). In hopes of becoming Jimmy's business partner, he'll do anything to please Hooks, but tests his relationships with the other boys because of that very determination.
The two troupes clash upon their arrival in Neverland, and characters grope with a common, daunting question: How do they get home?
Tiger Lily (Q'orianka Kilcher), her Native American tribe, tree spirits and Tinkerbell (voiced by Keira Knightley) assist in the quest.
While Peter thinks that he, Jimmy and his friends can make their own way, Jimmy has other ideas.
Watching Peter's and Jimmy's friendship dissolve into bitter indifference is difficult to watch but extraordinarily well-executed.
The scenes between Rowe and Ifans, in which they struggle to find a solution where they can both be happy and keep their family together, pack power with their desperation.
Jimmy steadily progresses into the power-hungry Captain Hook and the end result is nothing short of chilling, signifying that the humble fencing instructor that Peter once admired has been lost forever.
"Neverland" exhibits an exceptionally strong cast and story, but you're inevitably reminded of Syfy and its notoriously bad special effects when the mythological creatures are introduced.
The crocodiles look especially out of place and stretch the suspension of disbelief to its limit. A crocodile the size of a house chases after a young Native American, yet he somehow manages to outrun the thing.
Nevertheless, the visual effects are still superior to what one may expect and even the crumby ones are at least humorous.
The Neverland wilderness is particularly striking and lends great backdrops to the clashes between the pirates and Native Americans.
Provided that "Neverland" keeps its otherworldly creatures at a minimum, it may be the only Syfy production worthy of a sequel because the end of the miniseries only feels the beginning to a new adventure.
http://www.uccsscribe.com/culture/syfy-finally-finds-magic-with-neverland-miniseries-1.2682307
Following Theatreworks' opening of "The Lost Boys," the Syfy Channel debuted its two-part miniseries "Neverland," yet another adaptation of J.M. Barrie's beloved story of Peter Pan.
Two orbs, which function as portals to Neverland, fall into the hands of two distinct groups of people from similarly diverse eras.
The first finds pirate queen Elizabeth Bonny (Anna Friel) and a crew that terrorizes the 18th-century Spanish Main.
James "Jimmy" Hook (Rhys Ifans), a 20th-century English fencing instructor who also serves as mentor to a ragtag bunch of pick-pocketing orphan boys, finds the second.
Among the orphans is Peter (Charlie Rowe). In hopes of becoming Jimmy's business partner, he'll do anything to please Hooks, but tests his relationships with the other boys because of that very determination.
The two troupes clash upon their arrival in Neverland, and characters grope with a common, daunting question: How do they get home?
Tiger Lily (Q'orianka Kilcher), her Native American tribe, tree spirits and Tinkerbell (voiced by Keira Knightley) assist in the quest.
While Peter thinks that he, Jimmy and his friends can make their own way, Jimmy has other ideas.
Watching Peter's and Jimmy's friendship dissolve into bitter indifference is difficult to watch but extraordinarily well-executed.
The scenes between Rowe and Ifans, in which they struggle to find a solution where they can both be happy and keep their family together, pack power with their desperation.
Jimmy steadily progresses into the power-hungry Captain Hook and the end result is nothing short of chilling, signifying that the humble fencing instructor that Peter once admired has been lost forever.
"Neverland" exhibits an exceptionally strong cast and story, but you're inevitably reminded of Syfy and its notoriously bad special effects when the mythological creatures are introduced.
The crocodiles look especially out of place and stretch the suspension of disbelief to its limit. A crocodile the size of a house chases after a young Native American, yet he somehow manages to outrun the thing.
Nevertheless, the visual effects are still superior to what one may expect and even the crumby ones are at least humorous.
The Neverland wilderness is particularly striking and lends great backdrops to the clashes between the pirates and Native Americans.
Provided that "Neverland" keeps its otherworldly creatures at a minimum, it may be the only Syfy production worthy of a sequel because the end of the miniseries only feels the beginning to a new adventure.
http://www.uccsscribe.com/culture/syfy-finally-finds-magic-with-neverland-miniseries-1.2682307
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