An epic battle between good and evil… with owls.
The H-Bomb: Two young owl brothers, Soren and Kludd, are out stretching their wings one night when they get kidnapped by a group of owls known as the Pure Ones. The Pure Ones are assembling orphaned (abducted) owls to form an army and take over the world. Kludd accepts his new home among the Pure Ones and finds himself being groomed to be a soldier in their growing army. Soren, on the other hand, is chosen to become a picker, who collects owl pellets, or owl vomit, if you will, which the evil Pure Ones are stocking up on to make a weapon… yeah, yeah, I know, just go with it.
Soren, along with a female owl named Gylfie, a fellow picker he just befriended, escapes from the Pure Ones “orphanage” and flies out to find the mythical island of Ga’Hoole, home to a group of noble owl warriors that he only heard about in the bedtime stories his father told him. Well, turns out, the legends are true, as Soren teams up with the owls of Ga’Hoole in order to stop the Pure Ones’ plan for world domination. Only problem is, Soren will have to face his own brother in battle.
“Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” is based on a series of popular children’s books, and ultimately, the film will appeal to children, and children only. The strongest aspect of this film, by far, is the animation, which is lush, lifelike, and truly spectacular. The animation is particularly stunning in 3-D. However, breathtaking animation will only carry a movie so far. At some point, the story has to take over, and sadly, that’s where “Legend of the Guardians” falls short.
The vocal cast is an all star line up of British and Australian actors, including; Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Abby Cornish, Richard Roxburgh, Jim Sturgess, and Anthony LaPaglia, among others. Hell, even Leigh Whannell of “Saw” fame can be heard in there. These are all gifted thespians (well, except for Whannell), but to be honest, when listening to them, I spent more time trying to figure out whose voice it was I was hearing than I did following the plot, which again, was amazingly dull and uninspired.
Bearing in mind that this really isn’t my cup of tea, that the animation is incredible, and that the movie’s target audience, kids, seemed to enjoy it at the screening I attended, I really can’t in good conscience pan the film. It’s a perfectly okay film for what it is… a family film… which again, is not my thing, at all. Children will certainly like it, but the parents accompanying them will most likely spend the bulk of the picture glancing at their watches, tapping their feet, and waiting for the end credits to come up.
Speaking of the end credits, I was really thrown through a loop when the first credit came up and I saw that the film was directed by Zack Snyder. I thought, “Wait a minute, that Zack Snyder??? The same Zack Snyder who made movies of such resounding awesomeness as ’Watchmen’, ’300’, and the ’Dawn of the Dead’ remake?” Well… sadly, yes, that Zack Snyder. He is really one of the last people in the world of filmmaking I ever expected to see attached to a project like this. I really am curious (and bewildered) as to what attracted him to it. But, at the end of the day, what can I say… we all got bills to pay, and I guess Zack Snyder is no exception.
