The Golden Compass
Following in the footsteps of a spate of book-based fantasy movies -- the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia, Eragon -- The Golden Compass is based on a series of books, in this case the Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. The books and the movie are surrounded in controversy, thanks to Pullman's outspoken atheism and hatred for organized religion. Since the film drew attention to the books, some school boards have banned Pullman's series. But this review isn't about the book; it's about the movie which apparently bears little resemblance to the book and includes nothing overtly anti-religious, unless you equate the Magisterium to the Catholic church of a few centuries ago.
If you haven't already read the books, the movie may inspire you to do so. Or, more likely, it will inspire you to ask for your money back. Granted, it's a difficult task translating a 430 page book into a two hour movie. Yet, other efforts like the aforementioned Rings and Narnia have accomplished the task admirably. Where The Golden Compass falls short is in character development.
The main characters, Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman), and even Iorek Byrnison (the armored polar bear voiced by Ian McKellen) are all flat. By the end of the movie you should care about these characters, but you don't. Lyra is a know-it-all too wise for her age. Marisa Coulter is beautiful but evil and a little bit sick (at one point she smacks her own Daemon, her soul in animal form.) Lord Asriel just doesn't get enough screen time.
The special effects are very good, especially the computer generated bears and Daemons. The action sequences are fair, but not thrilling. But neither can compensate for a story that seems rushed. Part of the problem may be the exposition at the beginning. We're told all about Daemons and Dust and alternate dimensions, so there's little left to figure out. There's no mystery.
The ending of the movie is plainly meant to set us up for the next installment, thanks to a tedious speech by Lyra, but there's nothing to draw us back to the theater. There's no cliff-hanger. There's no mystery, or at least not enough to interest us. There's no desire to see what happens to the characters. It's as if we're told, "Well, we've done this. Now, let's move on."
Let's not.
Random Notions rating: 2 out of 5