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LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE
Director: Zack Snyder Cast: The voices of Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, Helen Mirren, Ryan Kwanten, Emily Barclay, David Wenham, Anthony Lapaglia, Hugo Weaving, Joel Edgerton, Abbie Cornish, Miriam Margolyes, Sam Neill MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:30 Release Date: 9/24/10 |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | September 23, 2010 The
wonderful thing about moral absolutes is they need no explanation. Here is good, and here is
evil. Here
is honor, and here is treachery. This
is the truth; that is a lie. They
are easy distinctions to make—no questions asked because none are necessary,
thank you very much. They are also,
if held firm to, dramatically boring. Legend
of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a perfect example of that process
in effect. The good guys are good
for no reason except that they are good (and that they fight the bad guys),
while the bad guys are bad for the same reason though with the altered moral
qualifier (and that they are opposed to the good guys). For children's fare, such distinctions are desirable, because they easily
digestible. This story, with its
basis in Kathryn Lasky's fantasy book series, leaves a strongly sour stomach. It
is the hero's quest, with young owl Soren (voice of Jim Sturgess) and his
brother Kludd (voice of Ryan Kwanten) captured by the evil Metal Beak (voice
Joel Edgerton), an owl with a taste for global conquest. Soren escapes with a tiny, big-eyed Elf Owl Gylfie (voice of Emily
Barclay) and joins with comic sidekicks Digger (voice of David Wenham), a
Burrowing Owl who does what his name and species implies in addition to telling
lame jokes, and Twilight (voice of Anthony LaPaglia), a minstrel singing songs
of their impending doom. Meanwhile,
Kludd stays behind, under the seductive control of Metal Beak's mate Nyra (voice
of Helen Mirren). John Orloff and
Emil Stern's screenplay is baffled by the ambiguity in Kludd and, hence,
abandons the possibility. Since
the baddies are doing terrible things, the quartet must find the best of the
good, the legendary guardian owls of the Ga'Hoole Tree, of whom the title speaks.
After a mildly perilous
journey across the sea (It's very cold, and one very nearly doesn't fall to his
death), Soren and his band find the tree and meet Ezylryb (voice of Geoffrey
Rush), Soren's hero who tells the young bird that battle is not as heroic and
glorious as he might have heard in stories. Political
discussions ensue. Do they believe
the intelligence of a young, naïve owlet and go to war immediately, or do they
send in some inspectors to Metal Beak's layer to see for themselves (while some
hope to appease the enemy)? Children
learn valuable lessons: Not only is battle as heroic and glorious as it is in
the stories, it also happens in slow motion (Director Zack Snyder, who in the
past has implemented some effective use of changes in camera speeds, is just
show-boating the animation). Those
who insist on caution and rational judgment in matters of conflict are not only
philosophical traitors but very real ones, willing to betray kin and country for
a taste of power. Copyright © 2010 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
Buy Related Products Buy the Books (Set of Books 1-4)
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(for
some sequences of scary action)
