53
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyDirector Zack Snyder (300) has crafted the rare 3-D eyegasm that's worth the premium ticket price.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThis picture sometimes rivals "Avatar" in its spectacular landscapes and thrilling flying sequences, but of course it won't come anywhere near those megagrosses, and it's too scary to be wholeheartedly embraced by children.
- 70Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyThere's a confusion that you can sense as well, with the film pulled between its light and dark sides just as the owls struggle with forces of good and evil. That hesitation keeps "Guardians" from reaching the deep, emotionally rich center that confers greatness in the animation world.
- 63Orlando SentinelRoger MooreOrlando SentinelRoger MooreA gorgeously animated combat fantasy - "The Lord of the Rings" meets "Happy Feet."
- 63Boston GlobeTom RussoBoston GlobeTom RussoThe result is sometimes charming and always visually astonishing.
- 63Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyThe movie is beautiful but, for one unfamiliar with the source material, confusing. I needed an owl scorecard.
- 60L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyIssues of faith, courage, loyalty, sacrifice and betrayal (the last perpetrated by Soren's brother) are all tackled by Snyder with understated maturity, though a series of slightly repetitive aerial skirmishes can't quite match the inventiveness of Feet's buoyant song-and-dance mash-ups.
- 58The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonUnfortunately, the story rarely rises above cookie-cutter kids'-fantasy tropes.
- 50VarietyVarietyThough visually stunning and blessed with immaculate 3D work, film is fatally bogged down by tackling an essentially ridiculous premise (gladiator-attired owls fight genocide) with stony solemnity, and by subsisting on a note of sustained menace and terror in what is ostensibly a children's film.
- 40Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichZack Snyder's films have some of the best opening-credits sequences in cinema; the unfortunate thing is that there's always a movie after them.