Voiced by Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law
Directed by Peter Ramsey
Reportedly, Rise of the Guardians began as a bedtime story that writer William Joyce impulsively spun for his daughter after she asked, Does Santa Claus know the Easter Bunny? And while the storybook Joyce subsequently penned has now evolved into a 3D animated feature with A-list vocal talent, it nevertheless feels like someones making it up as it goes along. For all of its high-concept ideas, Peter Ramseys film barely manages to scrape by in terms of basic storytelling.
Basically The Avengers for the 10-years-and-under set, Guardians charts the initiation of impetuous Jack Frost (Chris Pine) into a secret order of heroes that includes a seemingly straight-out-of-Siberian-prison version of Santa (Alec Baldwin); the gruff Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman); the flighty, winged Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher); and the impish, silent Sandman (maybe someone didnt show up for work). Their adversary? None other than Pitch (Jude Law), the Boogie Man whos intent on destroying childrens belief in these hallowed figures and slowly turning their dreams into nightmares.
While theres legitimate wonder to be derived from our lingering looks at the intricately devised sets for Santas workshop and the fairies realm, the majority of the film unfolds as a series of frantically staged action sequences. The lack of visual coherence is echoed in a script that piles on plot developments without fashioning them into an involving narrative. Meanwhile, the films central theme is reiterated constantly to assure us that there is a message amidst all the noise.
The cinematic equivalent of a Halloween sugar rush, Guardians starts out exhilarating but ends up running on empty.
