LEGENDS OF THE GUARDIANS; THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE with the voices of Jim Sturgess, Emily Barclay, Ryan Kwanten, Hugo Weaving, Helen Mirren and Geoffrey Rush, directed by Zack Snyder. Rating: 7/10.
ALTHOUGH lacking in humor and quite violent for a film aimed at youngsters, this visually dazzling 3D animated fantasy feature from director Zack Snyder ("300" and "Watchmen") has the epic sweep and feel of "Lord of the Rings".
Based on the first three books in Kathryn Lasky's bestselling series, "The Guardians of Ga'Hoole", Snyder's film revolves around Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess), a young owl who has always been enchanted by his father's stories about the Guardians of Ga'Hoole - an heroic and mythical group of warriors who once fought to save the owl kingdom from the evil Pure Ones.
Soren dreams of one day joining the Guardians, but his jealous older brother, Kludd (Ryan Kwanten), has no such noble notions.
When Soren and Kludd's bickering causes them to fall out of their treetop home, the two are carried off by the Pure Ones and imprisoned at the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Here, they face a grim future as either soldiers or slaves.
Kludd wants to be a soldier, but Soren and his new friend Gylfie (Emile Barclay) escape with the help of a guard named Grimble (Hugo Weaving) and set off on an arduous journey to the legendary city of Ga'Hoole, where the old warrior Ezylryb (Geoffrey Rush) will train Soren in the art of war.
"Legends of the Guardians" is a rather serious affair and Snyder - not surprisingly - brings a certain intensity to the many battle scenes which dominate the second half of the film and feature plenty of slow motion shots and much owl on owl violence. The movie is blessed with superb voice acting from Sturgess, Helen Mirren, Anthony LaPaglia, Weaving and, in particular, Geoffrey Rush, Of course, what really makes it work are the stunning visuals. The exciting flying scenes - reminiscent of those in "Avatar"- are quite breathtaking, and the shots of lush, dark forests and vast seascapes are equally sumptuous.
Perhaps it might be a little scary for tots under seven, But "Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" is first class family entertainment. The young audience I saw it with were spellbound from beginning to end, and applauded when it was over. The film looks marvelous in 3D, but I should imagine it looks pretty good in 2D as well. GA.
ALTHOUGH lacking in humor and quite violent for a film aimed at youngsters, this visually dazzling 3D animated fantasy feature from director Zack Snyder ("300" and "Watchmen") has the epic sweep and feel of "Lord of the Rings".
Based on the first three books in Kathryn Lasky's bestselling series, "The Guardians of Ga'Hoole", Snyder's film revolves around Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess), a young owl who has always been enchanted by his father's stories about the Guardians of Ga'Hoole - an heroic and mythical group of warriors who once fought to save the owl kingdom from the evil Pure Ones.
Soren dreams of one day joining the Guardians, but his jealous older brother, Kludd (Ryan Kwanten), has no such noble notions.
When Soren and Kludd's bickering causes them to fall out of their treetop home, the two are carried off by the Pure Ones and imprisoned at the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Here, they face a grim future as either soldiers or slaves.
Kludd wants to be a soldier, but Soren and his new friend Gylfie (Emile Barclay) escape with the help of a guard named Grimble (Hugo Weaving) and set off on an arduous journey to the legendary city of Ga'Hoole, where the old warrior Ezylryb (Geoffrey Rush) will train Soren in the art of war.
"Legends of the Guardians" is a rather serious affair and Snyder - not surprisingly - brings a certain intensity to the many battle scenes which dominate the second half of the film and feature plenty of slow motion shots and much owl on owl violence. The movie is blessed with superb voice acting from Sturgess, Helen Mirren, Anthony LaPaglia, Weaving and, in particular, Geoffrey Rush, Of course, what really makes it work are the stunning visuals. The exciting flying scenes - reminiscent of those in "Avatar"- are quite breathtaking, and the shots of lush, dark forests and vast seascapes are equally sumptuous.
Perhaps it might be a little scary for tots under seven, But "Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" is first class family entertainment. The young audience I saw it with were spellbound from beginning to end, and applauded when it was over. The film looks marvelous in 3D, but I should imagine it looks pretty good in 2D as well. GA.