MOVIE
REVIEW:
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
09/23/10
SYNOPSIS: Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible
consequences—causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga’Hoole—Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.
REVIEW: Based on the book Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky, under the direction of Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) and the animation of Animal Logic (Happy Feet), Warner Bros bring to the big screen Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. A film that thanks to its visual effects is able to overcome all its deficiency.
What did not work for the film?
As it happened in Happy Feet, the owls look very similar making it very difficult to keep track of main characters at the beginning of the film. This can be a issue for the little ones.
Just like in Zack Snyder’s 300 and Watchmen, some of the scenes project the feeling not being well connected, making the film choppy and the sensation of a undeveloped screenplay. There are a few scenes that can be taking out of the film without affecting its main of the story. This seems to be the problem with most book adaptations. If you have read the book, may be you will be able to understand the purpose of 3 minutes characters that don’t contribute in any way to the main story.
What work for the film?
Voice cast is very important in this type of films and director Zack Snyder just makes the right selection for the film. Each voice brought character and personality to all animated characters.
Ones again Snyder showcases his visionary mind and creates gorgeous and spectacular scenes only seen before in films like Avatar. From the intense and ground breaking owls flights and fights to the use of 3D technology. This is how a 3D animated film should look like. I always have complained about how studios are just using 3D as a gimmick rather than an improvement. This is not the case with this film, Zack Snyder proofs that there is more to 3D films, you just need the right innovative person behind the camera.
Even with its pitfalls Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole rises as a visually entertaining film. Just keep in mind that the film is a little bit darker and it may not be suitable for very young audiences.
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