Jacqueline Monahan's Movie Reviews
Rise of the Guardians 3-D | Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Islas Fisher, Jude Law | Review
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- Category: Jacqueline Monahan
- Published on 22 November 2012
- Written by Jacqueline Monahan
Jacqueline Monahan
Las Vegas Round The Clock
http://www.lasvegasroundtheclock.com
Jacqueline Monahan is an educator for the GEAR UP program at UNLV.
She is also an entertainment reporter for Lasvegasroundtheclock.com
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Rise of the Guardians 3-D | Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Islas Fisher, Jude Law | Review
Merry Christmas! Happy Easter! Don’t forget to floss!
So shout three of the Guardians on their way to saving the world from evil Pitch Black (Jude Law). Pitch wants to fill the world’s children with fear and remove their belief in the Guardians. He sends ferocious black Night Mares out to frighten the tot population, displacing the pleasant dreams that the Sandman (a Guardian) brings.
Other Guardians are North (Alec Baldwin) a Santa with an Eastern European accent, assisted by tiny elves dressed like felt triangles and Yetis with mustaches. Tooth (Isla Fisher) is the Tooth Fairy, assisted by a fleet of squeaky, elfin Baby Teeth who collect kiddie teeth and leave coins behind.
Bunnymund (Hugh Jackman) is the Aussie-accented Easter Bunny, assisted by hundreds of walking eggs in a variety of colors. The Sandman, known as Sandy doesn’t speak, but forms sand sculptures above his head to let you know what’s on his mind.
Into this mix flies the very cool Jack Frost (Chris Pine) recently created by the Man in the Moon to aid the Guardians in protecting the world’s children. Jack’s good at turning things to ice and giving children snow days. His problem is that he just can’t seem to get them to believe in him. You’ll remember that Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell had this problem, too.
Jack must prove himself to be belief-worthy while battling Pitch and attempting to become a bona-fide Guardian. That means delving into his own mysterious past.
Alec Baldwin disappears into North’s feisty persona; Hugh Jackman’s Easter Bunny is a six-foot dynamo. Isla Fisher’s Tooth flits and frets while Chris Pine’s Jack is the spine of the story, no mean feat when you’re teamed with the big red-suited guy with all of the toys.
Jude Law’s silky British venom makes Pitch a smooth menace
Produced by Dreamworks Animation, Rise of the Guardians is based on William Joyce’s The Guardians of Childhood book series and directed by Peter Ramsey in a stunning directorial debut. The 3-D effect enhances the aesthetic cinemagic (my word).
With gorgeous, haunting visuals and clever mythological construction, the film will resonate with children and adults, although the latter may find that generous dollops of precious overkill are like too much icing on the cake that’s sweet enough already.
The adorable moments work best with tiny injections of wry humor diluting the syrup, and the sometimes hyperkinetic activity can mar the elegance of the images. Children should take to it like a bag of eye candy.
It’s the adults who will have to literally pay the price for all this Guardian belief, providing the toys, eggs, candy and money that will be expected throughout the year. “We can’t afford it.” will simply not work anymore.
Merry Christmas! Happy Easter! Don’t forget to floss!