Movie Review: "The Legend of the Guardians - The Owls of Ga'Hoole"

The Legend of the Guardians is a kid's adventure movie that has plenty of action, but never soars. The movie is the story of a young owl named Sorin who dreams of someday becoming one of the mythical Guardians of Ga'Hoole (the owl protectors for all owl kingdom), but when Sorin and his brother are kidnapped by the evil owl clan, The Pure Ones, who vow to take over all of owldom, Sorin must fly out to discover the ancient Guardians in order to save owls the world over. It's a straightforward story utilizing Joseph Cambell's "Hero's Journey," but unlike Star Wars, the potential is never reached. Director Zack Snyder does a marvelous job with the action sequences, and the whole movie is one of the most visually striking pieces of cinema this year, but the story is just too simple. The story is sort of like it's still stuck in outline form, following bulletpoints rather than it feeling as if the story has a natural ebb-and-flow. Snyder never takes the time to drink in the fantastical imagery spun by his animators, and the same goes for the characters. Time is never taken to explore these wonderful characters in greater detail, where as these characters probably leapt off the page in the novel by Kathryn Lasky, and had that time been taken it could have added some much needed emotional connection. It's simple to say, had there been more meat to this than just the bare bones 90 minutes, but alas, this is a movie that could have soared up into the clouds, but settles to fall flat.

I give The Legend of the Guardians an F!