Review: Rise of the Guardians (PG) (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Review: Rise of the Guardians (PG)

3:28pm Friday 30th November 2012 in Reviews

BASED on The Guardians Of Childhood book series by William Joyce, Peter Ramsey’s entertaining family-oriented film is a timely reminder that there are many things without rigorous scientific proof that still touch our hearts and change our humdrum lives for the better.

The film is narrated by Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine), who emerges from a frozen lake without any memory of the past.

At the North Pole, Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin) and his elves are hard at work when darkness flashes across his map of the Earth.

“The bogeyman was here,” Santa tells his fellow guardians Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and Sandman, who refuse to believe that Pitch Black (Jude Law) has risen to challenge their supremacy with his hideous nightmares.

Once the threat posed by Pitch Black becomes real, the guardians prepare to welcome a new recruit to their fold: Jack Frost.

“All he does is freeze pipes and mess with my egg hunts!” scoffs Easter Bunny.

Pitch Black gains in strength and the children of the world turn their backs on Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Sandman until just one boy, Jamie (Dakota Goyo), believes.

Everything rests on Jack achieving his destiny but he is haunted by the past he cannot recall.

“How can I know who I am until I know who I was?” he laments.

Rise Of The Guardians unfolds at a brisk pace, leaving scant time for in-depth characterisation between the eye-popping action sequences.

DAMON SMITH

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