Peter Pan is actually played by a boy in director P.J. Hogan's lavish big-screen version of J.M. Barrie's classic fantasy, and it's a good thing. Not even fans of the Britney-Madonna kiss are ready to see Sally Duncan plant a passionate smooch on 13-year-old Rachel Hurd-Wood, are they?

As it stands, Hogan's ‘‘Peter Pan’’ has ‘‘modest hit’’ written all over it. Not too stodgy but not particularly daring, it mingles the new with the old in a way that will glance off the popular imagination like a swift but poorly timed jab from Captain Hook's cutlass.

This time, Pan — the patron saint of eccentric, super-wealthy pop stars everywhere — is an American lad (Jeremy Sumpter of ‘‘Frailty’’) who flies into an open window at the Durling residence in London and whisks Wendy (newcomer Hurd-Wood) and her two little brothers (Harry Newell and Freddie Popplewell) off to a supervision-free Caribbean utopia called Neverland. Their disappearance is noted with dismay by the Durling parents (Olivia Williams and Jason Isaacs), but not hysteria. Apparently, parents don't do hysteria in Britain.

‘‘Pan’’ purists will delight in the usual features: Hook (also played by Isaacs) and his ticking crocodile, Tinker Bell (Ludivine Sagnier) and her jealous fairy plottings, not to mention the mommy- starved Lost Boys and the bittersweet themes of youthful farewell that are the lifeblood of any ‘‘Pan’’ adaptation. Isaacs (‘‘The Patriot’’) gives Hook an added dash of tragic villainy, at once resentful and admiring of the gooey but chaste romance between Peter and Wendy. Hurd-Wood, a dead-ringer for a young Kate Beckinsale, and the talented Sumpter make for nice co-stars.

Director Hogan proves surprisingly adept at fashioning the action scenes, given that his only previous feature experience are movies with the word ‘‘wedding’’ in them, as in ‘‘Muriel's’’ and ‘‘My Best Friend's.’’ The flying scenes are soaring and seamless, and the mock-up of Hook's Jolly Roger passes muster, though it never looks quite as ominous as the Black Pearl in that other pirate movie this year.
‘‘Peter Pan’’ has always been the sort of children's story that appeals more to adults than children, and I bet that will be the case here. Today's kids believe in glitzy babyslut harpies like Britney, but fairies? Keep dreaming.

IF YOU GO

‘Peter Pan’
Starring: Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood
Playing: Now playing throughout the Valley Rating: PG (adventure action sequences,
peril)
Running time: 1 hour, 53 minutes
Grade: B-