Reviews are starting to approach with Friday looming before us, and this is what seems to be the general consensus everywhere I look: the technical aspects of the film (visuals, score, etc.) are top notch, but the script is flawed and poorly paced. I’ve been hearing great things about the books, though… think something went wrong in the book-to-screenplay transfer?
Thanks for the link, nintendofreak!
I’ve seen all except ‘Name’s Digger’ and ‘I’m the Echidna’, but I’ll probably give in to temptation later. My favourite is ‘Basic Training’ (where we first see Otulissa!), though ‘My Name is Nyra’ isn’t bad either (Helen Mirren is amazing as usual, and 00:29 is so sweet of Soren). The character animation is just mindblowing and dareisayit, ‘Pixar-level’. 
Basil: If you’re talking about the two reviews on Rotten Tomato at the moment, tribefan695 had posted it on Wall-E forums and I discussed it at length. I’ll just copy and paste my thoughts on 'em:
Interestingly, there’s also two opposing reviews on IMDB, one from Texas and one from Malaysia. Expect more to come in within the next 24 hours. I’ll probably follow the citizens on IMDB cos’ professional film critics are incredibly unimaginative and skewed towards independent features (which is ironic because although LOTG is being marketed as a blockbuster, it is an indy to a certain extent since it’s been produced by a newbie animation studio).
The same old stuff about ‘this story has been told before’ or ‘i can’t tell this character from that’ or ‘it’s too violent for kids’ doesn’t fly (to use a lame pun) with me. There’s very little original stories nowadays, what matters is the earnestness and passion in telling the tale. The characters are all owls, so of course it would be harder to distinguish than say, the myriad species in the Lion King or Madgascar. And too violent for kids? I’m sorry, but that’s how the books are for you (in fact, I’m not surprised if they actually tamed down the bloodshed), and isn’t the rating PG? 
Interesting thing about that: when I first saw the original trailer, I had exactly that concern of not being able to differentiate characters, but seeing it in action in whole clips, it’s really easy to tell the difference, even between Soren, Kludd and their father (name escapes me at the moment, but that happens with much more well-regarded films, and isn’t a huge issue). It’s the little things, primarily the facial expressions, and especially the eyes. Animal Logic have progressed massively since Happy Feet (which I attempted to watch and couldn’t finish, because the eyes were so dead it was creepy). It’s way easier to tell the difference between characters than it is in the obvious (and repeated) analogy of Watership Down, where I still struggle to tell the difference between characters even after seeing the film multiple times and reading the book.
Of course, in regards to LotG, it also helps that they’ve got a group of voice actors which, although not amazing in their own right, are at least distinctive from each other. This is also something that Pixar do really well - there aren’t many voiceover performances in their films that I’d say are amazing, but they’re all sufficiently different, and Snyder seems to have come up with a similarly varied group.
I agree! I thought Happy Feet was incredible when I first saw it, but something unsettled me about Mumble’s eyes. It was when I researched the ‘Uncanny Valley’ for an essay and rewatched it that I finally realised what it was. And I’ve read halfway through WD and watched the whole movie, so yes, compared to Ga’Hoole, it’s much harder to differentiate between the characters. Ms Lasky did a great job in that respect making each character a different species, while the character modelers and concept artist succeeded in designing them as uniquely as possible (they look better than the illustrations on the inside covers of the books, IMO).
Yes, I think this is like a dream cast that Australians can be proud of (I’m not to speak on the Aussies’ behalf, but it is quite the achievement, isn’t it?). And then you’ve got Brit talents as well like Helen Mirren and Jim Sturgess. Like I said, it may be marketed as a Hollywood blockbuster, but it is anything but. 
Speaking of ‘voice talents’…
…
Here’s your ‘behind the-scenes’ look at the actors recording their lines.
Legend of the Guardians’ B-Roll I
Legend of the Guardians’ B-Roll II
It looks like they’re really bringing their A-game here. I like how they ‘shadow-fight’, and Hugo-Weaving’s delivery of The Guardian Pledge is just spine-tingling (right before he bursts into laughter 
).
I nominate TDIT to be the official Pixar Planet Forums Legend of the Guardians Spokesperson.
I definitely thinks the animation of this movie is very realistic.
Hey now… I may be a huge supporter of the movie, but I give criticism when it’s due. Now that you mention it, at the rate I’m promoting their film, Animal Logic and Warner Bros. should pay me for all the ‘PR-speak’! 
No seriously, I love the books, and I’m really, really hoping the film will be just as awesome. I’m just a very enthusiastic fanboy.
Oh yes, I agree! I hope the story is just as realistic… well, within the world of ‘talking owls who wage wars in medieval armours’.
So, guess which Australian is going to see LotG this Sunday? Hint: to the best of my knowledge, it’s not TDIT.
Yep, I somehow managed to win a double pass to an advance screening this Sunday. Now I just have to beg my manager to give me that Sunday off. Will I be able to defeat Murphy’s Law? Find out on the next exciting episode… I couldn’t think of a title!
At any rate, the moral of this story is, if you want to win competitions, don’t book the time off work.
Now that’s just deeth-picable.
How about ‘Nintendofreakgcn: Advanced Watching of Strigiform Warrior Movie-Film for Make Review on Majestic Forum of Pixar Planet’?
TDIT, hate to be random, but I love your signature!! So pretty.
Anyway, I want to see this. Unlikely, but I want to.
With a current RT percentage of [spoil]50%[/spoil], here is the consensus:
Legend of the Guardians’ dark tone and dazzling visuals are to be admired, even if they’re ultimately let down by a story that never lives up to its full potential.
[spoil]Shame, really. Seems there was a bit of a problem with the novel to screen adaptation of the source material. I’m also hearing that the movie’s about ninety minutes long. That’s what? 30 minutes a book? What were they thinking?[/spoil]
Busy review day - 3 films. You Again, Wall Street 2, and of course the one that matters in this thread, Legend of the Guardians!
If anyone’s interested in the full on review, they went up at midnight EDT direct link to LotG: onemoviefiveviews.wordpress.com/ … owls-of-ga’hoole/
[spoil]Was hoping to like it more than I did…[/spoil]
- E
Was going to edit this into my last post, but seeing as how someone just made a post, I’ll leave this here: blog.moviefone.com/2010/09/23/ry … -owls-and/
That’s the video featuring questions people asked Jim, Ryan, and Zack on the site - I believe the link was posted here awhile ago. I’m happy to say that one of both my and TDIT’s questions were chosen! Enjoy the interview.
Just watched the interview - that was interesting. Cool that you got questions picked! Thanks for posting it up Basil.
Here’s an awesome review of the movie that’s gotten me really excited for it! Even if there’s is mixed reactions to the movie, I’m still can’t wait to see it.
dvdtalk.com/reviews/45944/le … f-gahoole/
I can’t believe this notorious critic liked it!
nypress.com/article-21657-am … -back.html
I had to edit my post because I can’t BELIEVE that after talking about this movie for months, it comes out and nobodys talking about it! I haven’t seen it yet. I’m waiting until I get paid next week since I gotta take two little kids, and IMAX tickets aren’t cheap! But I was hoping that with all the people posting in this theadore prior to it’s release, at least a few people would have seen it.
What a great movie!! The 3-D is amazing. A
I’m seeing the movie tomorrow, hopefully. I’ve been staying away from the thread in fear of spoilers, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem right now.
I’m thinking about seeing this movie, Dad won some movie tickets at a work meeting and we’re considering it. Any opinions?
I would reccomend it! 
There are some very very minor plot holes, and a basic story that gets more complex. The3-D is great. if you get the chance to see in this medium take the advantage.
9/10
Hey Tamater, how was the film score? The thirty second clips I listened to sounded really good.
Edit: YOU GOTTA TELL US ABOUT THE SHORT BEFORE THE MOVIE!!! Was it classic Roadrunner and Wile(sp?) Coyote, or was it a letdown?
Well, I just got back from the advance screening, and while I’m not quite ready yet to make a full review, I’ll make a few comments (all spoilers will be tagged).
First, to address the story, which seems to be the main concern. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t read the books (yet - I have the first three novels, on which this movie is based, sitting next to me as a I type this), but I really noticed no problem. The story is very swift, and there are a few issues of the flow of time (e.g. characters seem to get from one point to another far too quickly at times), but these are fairly standard for films, and in my opinion, actually help in general to keep the audience interested. An extra ten to twenty minutes of material would probably have helped, primarily to flesh out characters, but it’s not a major issue for me. It’s not an Oscar-calibre screenplay, by any means, but it serves its purpose.
That purpose should be obvious to anyone who’s seen the trailers, but I’ll emphasise it now: visuals. The only CG film with comparable visual beauty is WALL-E, and while Legend of the Guardians never surpasses the majesty of the space scenes from that film, it comes very close on many occasions, and with the now famous “flying through the rain” scene, equals it for one glorious moment. Where LOTG surpasses any western animated film to date, however, is in the action scenes, which are even better than those in The Incredibles or How to Train Your Dragon. The last act of the film is basically wall-to-wall action, ranging from the amazingly graceful flying fights (which are like some incredibly deadly dance) to some less fancy, but much more brutal fights that remind me of those in Watership Down (someday, I may stop making that comparison, but it works). It’s worth paying the extra money to see it in 3D, as it really adds that extra edge to the action. Zack Snyder is known for his heavy use of slow motion, and while it is used heavily here, it’s never gratuitous, instead allowing the viewer to see every perfectly animated blow. To be frank, if this wasn’t animated and about owls, it would quite possibly be rated MA, and even in its current state, it only avoids an M rating through some careful cuts away from actual blood (only an issue for me in one specific shot).
At this point, I feel compelled to talk about the film’s score. Long story short, I’m about to download the soundtrack from Itunes, because it is that good. It is everything the film needs, ranging from epic to almost hauntingly soulful. While it’s not as good as the score for HTTYD (as it lacks the well-defined, recurring themes), it is better than that of Toy Story 3 (no offence intended to Randy Newman or his fans, but I consider him more of a songwriter than a score writer). I recall some comments that the use of the Owl City song “To the Sky” seemed forced, but I think it worked well in that montage. Interestingly, “Kings and Queens” does not feature in the film or the end credits, despite its prominent usage in the trailers. To be honest, I kind of wanted to hear it in the end credits, as it has definitely grown on me.
Regarding the voice acting, I think it was above average. All of the voice actors did good jobs, and there were no gratuitous celebrity cameos, but the only standout for me was Geoffrey Rush as Ezylryb, and that might be more due to having a great character to work with (my personal favourite in the film). For anyone who was concerned, Jim Sturgess as Soren comes off a lot better in the film than he does in the trailers.
Finally, some general comments about the mood: this is much more serious than standard CG films, even those by Pixar. The basic mood reminds me of Fellowship of the Ring: generally serious with some very dark moments, but never reaching an apocalyptic level. I have no idea how this compares to the books, but I was very pleased with it.
Final score: four stars out of five, just. An extra ten to twenty minutes of footage would probably have given them enough time to flesh out the characters enough to add some emotional punch and project this past HTTYD and maybe even TS3. As it stands, however, this will hopefully prove to be more groundbreaking than either of those films. Here’s hoping to more epic animated fantasy films in the future, whether they be sequels to this or something else entirely.
Okay, two scenarios:
(a) The tickets are specifically for LOTG: Go see it, of course! Free tickets, and I all but guarantee that you and your father will at least mildly enjoy the film. The advance screening I was at had a great variety of people, and everyone I saw left at least satisfied.
(b) The tickets are for any movie: I’m less sure. The only other good-sounding film I can think of that’s out at the moment is Despicable Me, and that might not even be around anymore wherever you live. Since they are your father’s tickets, though, it’s probably best to let him choose the movie, but do mention the awesome slow-motion fight scenes in LOTG. That should be enough to lure in most lifeforms with a Y chromosome.
In short, yes. It’s a bit shorter than I remember Looney Tunes cartoons being, with only one plan to catch Roadrunner, but the results are hilarious, and the 3D and CGI (stylised, of course) work suprisingly well. In fact, it honestly amazes me that Warner Brothers hadn’t tried to do this before.