Beautifully drawn and devoid of his typical body count, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole finds a wholly unexpected sweet spot for director Zack Snyder: the family film.
Of course, it's still a Snyder movie, which means plenty of stylized action. But for the director, whose bloody ballads include 300 and Watchmen, Guardians is a lesson in restraint. A father of six, Snyder is well versed in comic books and kids. He knows that today's youth like their share of menace and dry wit. Snyder supplies both.
Based on the first three books of a 15-volume series by Kathryn Lasky, Guardians tells the story of a young owl caught in a battle between the noble Guardian owls and the wretched "Pure Ones," owls that seek a Lord of the Rings-style world of darkness.
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