3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Young owl Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess) marvels at tales of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, mythic winged warriors who battled to save all owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. When he and brother Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) fall into the talons of the Pure Ones, it's up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave owls and seek out the Great Tree, home of the Guardians.

The marketing for this film wasn't very enticing, but the story has a lot of heart and is very entertaining. Director Zach Snyder (300, Watchman) makes his animation debut with this fantasy adventure based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky.

Video Highlights

• MVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Amazing attention to detail
• Relatively few "in your face" 3D moments
• No banding, crosstalk, or ghosting in 3D

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Reference-quality imaging, frequency response, and dynamic range
• Virtually silent noise floor
• Intelligible dialog
• Plethora of discrete effects

The 3D MVC video encode improves upon the 2D version with greater depth and immersion. Brightness can be an issue with some 3D titles because of the glasses, but even in the dimly lit scenes there is plenty of shadow detail.

Bonus Materials

• Maximum Kid Mode PIP
• Legend of the Guardians: Rise of The Guardians featurette
• "To The Sky" music video by Owl City
• 4 Artwork Galleries
• True Guardians of the Earth featurette
• pocket BLU enabled
• Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and Digital Copy

The pacing is a mixed bag but the audio and visuals more than make up for any of its flaws. I watched this about a month ago on Blu-ray and was blown away by the presentation but seeing it in 3D certainly adds the cherry on top. Recommended for families.

Release Date: December 17, 2010
Studio: Warner

Movie: 7/10
Picture: 10/10
Sound: 10/10

Review System

Movie: 9/10
3D Picture: 10/10
Sound: 10/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS40 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics