You'd be forgiven if you took one look at the ads for the awkwardly named Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, with its slightly creepy CGI owls, some of them wearing metal masks and thought "Weird. Pass."
You'd also be wrong.
Well, half-wrong at least. The movie's definitely got a good dose of weird. In addition to a dizzying array of names like Eglantine, Otulissa, Gylfie, etc... they're all, well, owls. Which means a lot of 360ยบ neck twisting and pecking and such, and that's before director Zack Snyder unleashes the head-cracking action. And the plot's a somewhat convoluted spin on the classic Joseph Campbell journey, young winsome hero discovering a larger world of adventure and all. That said, it's actually pretty good.
First, it looks absolutely beautiful. I try not to get too geeky tech boy, but the CGI is stunning. Plus, it was authored in 3D (as opposed to the recent slap-dash conversions) so it's worth strapping on the Buddy Holly glasses for. And it's got tons of Snyder's signature slo-mo flourishes when the owls finally strap on the metal talons and throw down – while the beginning of the movie is overly earnest and whimsical, the eventual battle is breathtaking.
I can see why the film's struggling, tho – aside from fans of the book series, it's a bit unclear what audience it's for. The first half of the film might work for the kids, altho the'll likely be somewhat lost amidst all the confusing names and locations. And when it shifts into full-on action flick, it might be a bit much for younger viewers, as Snyder's trademark bone breaks are even more unnerving when those limbs are covered with feathers and seconds before the chipper little owls were composing ballads.
So. Is it gonna launch the next Star Wars-level saga? Not so much. But despite the slight "what the hell is this?" vibe, it's definitely worth a watch.
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