Zack Snyder, Film Director, Intrerviewed
... the director of 300 and Watchmen has taken a step into the family friendly genre of animation with his latest film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. The film is based on the children's books of the same name that were written by Kathryn Lasky. Not only is he stepping into new territory by doing a family film, but Legend of the Guardians also marks his first encounter with 3D.
The movie mostly fails to gain traction due to the lack of solid direction by Reiner. For one, the film is set in the '50s/'60s for no discernible reason other than nostalgia, which doesn't play that big of a part in the plot anyway. Also, aside from half of the voiceovers not really working, the back-and-forth between the two main characters is just not compelling. Even when you know where things are headed, there needs to be that certain something that keeps the audience wanting more, and Reiner never infuses the story with that extra oomph.A popular children's book (albeit one that's nine years old), Flipped should have no problem drawing a decent number of moviegoers. But with a flawed structure and so-so overall storyline, the film is just more evidence that Reiner ain't what he used to be.
