The Golden Compass

The golden compass is a pretty comparable children's movie. The acting is well done, both from the kids and adults. The cast ensemble is made up of some fairly prominent names. I quite enjoyed watching, though I'm still not sure I get what dust is, or why the college let Nicole Kidman take the girl "as an assistant". It was all fairly good, watching ioryek slap the jaw off a polar bear was a highlight. But my main grievance is that they set up for a sequel that never happened, leaving the ending lacking.

The Golden Compass in my eyes was the must see film of this Christmas. I am a huge fan of the His Dark Materials books, and was reading all three in preparation for the movie to come, I was praying this would be the new fantasy epic to watch. I suppose I got myself way too hyped for this movie, even the slightly negative reviews didn't stop me from being excited, so what a shame to say this cannot help but be a disappointment for me. I have a few major problems with this mainly, mainly I suppose because of the changes from the book, in fact had I have not read the book I most probably would have completely adored the movie rather than have just liked it. The Golden Compass is not a bad movie, its definitely better than the first Narnia movie and Harry Potter movie, but after reading the book I couldn't help but criticise because I know how amazing this movie could have been. Thankfuly the entire cast, yes the entire cast, are absolutely perfect, there are two notable set pieces and the storyline still keeps its grip on the audience despite being rushed. The lack of the ending from the book actually didn't even bother me that much, so long as people who have read the book are aware its going to be in the second movie then I believe that they won't be that bothered. Overall Golden Compass is an entertaining two hours, that could benefit from another half hour. Its a great film to watch for Christmas and will hopefully do well at the box office so the Subtle Knife is made very soon.

The biggest surprise of the cast definitely comes from Dakota Blue Richards as the lead, Lyra. In the trailers I actually thought that Lyra looked terrible, her voice sounded monotone and the girl showed no expression. Thankfuly in the movie that is far from the truth. Richards pulls off the character of Lyra perfectly, she's cheeky, at times rude but alway likable and definitely well acted. Her cockney accent surprisingly works and never gets too irritating, although at first it takes some adjusting too, and her emotions throughout the film are very well displayed. She carries the entire movie very well and it will be great to see her return in the future films as I know how much dramatic stuff she will have to do. But its Nicole Kidman who practically runs over the hills with this movie. Mrs Coulter was always my favourite character in the movie, and Kidman delivers an icy turn as the villainess. Kidman makes her multi-layered and highly memorable, her best scenes definitely being towards the end. Daniel Craig unfortunately features very little, but he delivers a great performance. Eva Green is superb as Serafine Pekkala but once again features way too little for my liking. The other two superb characters, and my joint second favourite performances, come from Ian Mckellen doing the voice of Iorek, and Sam Eliott who is perfectly cast as Lee Scoresby.

However despite the incredible performances its the cruel way things have been changed or cut that made me incapable of ever giving this higher than a 7/10. I will never understand to this day why the polar bear fight was changed from near the end to the middle, and why the Bolvangar scenes are so unnecessarily rushed its almost cruel. Also changing certain characters and changing certain facts just infuriated me all the more! But the ultimate problem with the movie is the fact it is way too rushed. Occasionally it is a blessing to get a two hour movie rather than a bloated two and a half hour once, but this story requires all the time it can get, and with events just taking up mere seconds and events being cut out (fans of the book will hate The Cocktail Party not being in the film) makes the film feel too short and missing something. Thankfuly the bear fight is as incredible as I hoped for, it ends in very cool way, and the final battle at Bolvangar, while way too short is definitely well done. The movie also packs an emotional punch at times, the intercision scenes are pitch perfect and the ending is amazing in my eyes in terms of emotion. The effects of the daemons are very well done, and the daemons themselves are pretty cool, most namely Mrs Coulter's golden monkey which will terrify kids for a while.

The Golden Compass is hardly the new Lord of the Rings as many, including me admittedly, had hoped for, but thankfully it looks much more promising than the Narnia series and perhaps with a new director, and less editing, this series could really take off. But for now I just need to get over my slight disappointment of it. Still very much worth watching though.

I remembered that I liked this movie when I watched it a while ago. But I did not remember that it was THIS good! The only reason for the far too low rating(s) that I can see is christian fanatics that finds ANYTHING resembling criticism towards the church as heresy, or people that have read the book(s) and find that this movie have deviated too far from the original. But for me, the acting, the plot, the visuals, the special effects and the daemons running and flying around, was amazing. If you as I am, are not a christian fundamentalist, or have read the book(s) and like fantasy, I really believe that you as well will enjoy this movie.

It says something when you almost enjoy but then have to consult Wikipedia halfway through in order to remind yourself what is going on . It was via Wikipedia that I found out a very interesting fact and that is that original novelist Philip Pullman wrote his book with a heavy anti religious tone and this almost started to make sense almost and I do emphasise almost . One can almost imagine the ruling elite of this parallel universe called the Magisterium is a metaphor for the Vatican . Did I mention almost ? Good because there's to be two things fighting against each other in this movie from a narrative point of view and I'm talking about the good guys versus the bad guys . What I mean is that despite rejecting the religious nonsense seen in the world every person reading this lives in this alternative universe is equally guilty of spiritual poppycock . All religions come under metaphysics and while not all nonsense is metaphysical just about all metaphysics is nonsense in itself . We all know someone like this is real life where someone is well educated , perhaps holding a degree in the fields of science only to let them themselves down by stating they believe in Karma or a belief that string theory suggests there's an afterlife . It's the same with THE GOLDEN COMPASS that might have rejected the existence of Abrahamic God but is happy to have other metaphysical stuff to drive the story

In other words it seems like a film that is in conflict with itself as to the subtext almost as though stuff has been added to as not to alienate the believer which seems to suggest a moral cowardice of sorts . If there's stuff been added then one also gets the instinct that a lot has been take out of the film at an editing level . Characters come and go in a haphazard manner such as Daniel Craig's Lord Asriel who disappears and you keep expecting him to make a reappearance which he doesn't really . Likewise the Magisteruim's high council who you feel are just there to give some well respected actors a brief cameo to prop up the box office . There's also a much need for exposition which is a short coming . I'm left pretty clueless as to what the significance of Dust is and other plot points . I can understand that this might have been explained more if the series had gone ahead in a planned trilogy but the poor box office showing meant that idea was scrapped which is something of a pity because for what it is a - a dark fairy tale - it works very well on a visual level with some very good performances . But that said the disjointed manner of the storytelling dooms the film to a large degree

Literary adaptations are always a testy business, with filmmakers consistently trying to appease fans of the original work while still making sufficient changes to make the material work as a film. With this in mind, as well as the inevitable uproar from various religious sects, The Golden Compass, adapted from the first book in Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy was hardly an easy sell, and by no means a sure bid for box office success. Despite all of the negative factors against it, the film, while not the timeless fantasy epic it would like to be, proves a decent adaptation of Pullman's work and a sufficiently entertaining piece of escapism to boot.

Despite initial skepticism, director Chris Weitz of American Pie infamy demonstrates sufficient care and interest in his subject matter to bring the novel to life in a suitably quality fashion. Despite the occasional moment of flashy cinematography or special effects giving the impression of a child experimenting with his film-making toys, Weitz demonstrates a firm and steady grip on his film, keeping the tone light for a younger audience while retaining the occasional darker moment from the book to keep fans satisfied. Weitz's screenplay, while nowhere near as disappointing as it could have been, falls prey to the typical film fantasy pitfall of consistently struggling to force-feed as much information to the audience as possible as quickly and in as simplistic a fashion as possible, leading to a somewhat rushed narrative and an irritating lack of character development or exposition. Fans of the source material will likely grumble due to the occasional creative change, some more noticeable than others, while those unfamiliar with Pullman's books may be lost in a flurry of confusion, bombarded with a constant array of new names, faces and theoretical concepts. However, despite a disappointingly simplistic tone, the sheer enjoyment factor of the novel is not lost, and such is the film's primary strength: entertainment, if at the cost of profundity.

The special effects are for the most part top notch - the shapeshifting daemon effects are impressively integrated, the armoured bear fight is without question the pure, unfiltered exhilarating spectacle of the year, and the final mass battle sequence is similarly thrilling. The film's sets, costumes and props are spellbinding, easily giving the viewer the sense of being immersed in an imaginative alternate world with all of the visual splendour befitting such a fantasy epic. However, the film's musical score is a painful rehash of far too many clichéd epic film scores of late - far too overdone to be in the least emotionally affecting.

The stellar cast prove to be the film's high point, each inhabiting their roles with a comfort suggesting they had been born to play their respective parts. Newcomer Dakota Blue Richards is a revelation, surpassing the wooden efforts of most other child actors and carrying her lead role with ease, holding her own alongside her incredibly accomplished adult co-stars. Nicole Kidman is sheer perfection as the malevolent yet hypnotic Mrs. Coulter, effortlessly walking away with the show - every moment on screen, every glance, every movement is entirely in character, so fully does Kidman make the role her own. Daniel Craig proves a very fitting choice as scientific explorer Lord Asriel, making good use of his far too fleeting screen time, though one can't help but wish his character had a slight bit more of an edge to him.

Sam Elliot gives his strongest performance in years, instilling sardonic aeronaut Lee Scoresby with an offbeat charisma and sly humour wonderfully fitting the role and Eva Green is an ethereal and captivating presence as mysterious witch Serafina Pekkala. The somberous tones of Ian McKellan prove ideal in breathing life and soul into armoured bear Iorek Byrnison, and young Freddie Highmore is well cast as the voice of Lyra's daemon, Pantalaimon. Derek Jacobi and Simon McBurney give strong, if one dimensional performances as heads of the ominous Magesterium organization, as does Christopher Lee, whose 'blink-and-you-miss- him' role appears to be nothing less than a blatant cash in on The Lord of the Rings, but who delivers his one line well at any rate.

While fans of the novels may lament the watering down of the philosophical undertones of Pullman's novel, and the film being directed towards a younger audience, on the whole, despite the inescapable criticisms, as a sprawling piece of fantasy escapism, immersing the viewer in a world of armoured bears, daemons and witches, the film is a rousing success. It's just a shame to see such a strong premise fraught with such an overbearing air of caution and safety to please the lower common denominator, and one can't help but wish the producers had been slightly more daring, and captured a trace more of Pullman's nervy grit and spark to make the film a slightly less generic Hollywood blockbuster, and more satisfying overall. The film certainly isn't the 'next Lord of the Rings' which New Line certainly seems to intend for it to become, but an enjoyable and sufficiently impressive effort to warrant the next installment in the series, The Subtle Knife being made.

-7.5/10