Empire's The Golden Compass Movie Review

Plot
When a spate of child kidnappings claims her friend Roger, Lyra (Richards) sets off to rescue him. This brings her into a battle between her world’s religious government and her only known relative (Craig), who’s set on (heretically) proving the existence of parallel worlds.

Where Jackson wrestled a literary doorstop, packed with ideas both profound and banal, into an elegant and heart-thumping trilogy, Chris Weitz has started his own would-be threesome with a graceless, distracted plod through one of the most interesting and incendiary novels of the past fifteen years. The key theme of the failings of organised religion is given only mumbling lip-service, and Pullman’s flood of magical creativity is turned into a heavy mist of confusing silliness. It is as packed with incident and excitement as a trip to Marks and Spencer’s sock department.

Tom Stoppard’s script must have been written backwards in Swahili to be rejected for Weitz’s box-ticking effort. The talented writer/director of About A Boy has made something humourlessly faithful to the book’s events, but without its feeling. If you have favourite moments then rest assured they are here in some form – but they will only match the fantasies in your head if you are a mildly depressed Belgian accountant.

Almost every memorable occurrence from the source material is abbreviated into a hasty passage of exposition telling you why this bit’s important. Favourite characters are introduced to the audience with the only apparent purpose of pointing young Lyra in the direction of another po-faced oddball who might in turn direct her to the next. It’s a roll call rather than a story. We hear a great deal of long-held relationships between various characters, but we’re never shown any of them. Hardly any character interacts with anyone but Lyra. Really, if you’re just going to have events described to you, why not read the book?

It’s a crying shame to see such a well-cast ensemble go to waste in what amounts to a film wholly made of cameos. As Lord Asriel, the grumpy explorer who kickstarts the quest, Daniel Craig has little to do other than scowl famously and work up to shaving his beard. Newcomer Richards does a decent job with a role largely played opposite CG animals, but struggles with lumpy dialogue. It’s only Kidman as the villainous Mrs Coulter and Sam Elliott as good ol’ boy sky captain Lee Scorseby who leave an impression, most meaningfully when saying nothing at all.

The movie’s greatest disappointment is the total lack of atmosphere or scale. This is a quest that ventures from Oxford to the North Pole, yet gives the impression of being navigable at a relaxed pace in a weekend, with frequent pauses for being shot at. Weitz manages one grand sequence, a crunching duel between two polar bears (looking a lot better animated than early footage suggested), but for the film’s climactic battle the drama escapes him. His sparsely populated frame and limited selection of interesting shots serve to make events look meek and isolated rather than epic.

A final caution: if you’ve read the book and remember the cliffhanger ending, be warned that the movie has been bizarrely and unsatisfyingly chopped off at a point when things are looking like they might get a bit exci…

The Golden Let-Down
OK first things first, I had no interest in seeing this film and have never read the books. My girlfriend quite fancied it though, so away we went. Since watching it I've read the reviews here, seen both sides of the debate, and been out and bought the books (for the missus, but I may give them a go) From the fans on here, and from a couple of friends, I've picked up the feeling that the books are very probably great reads. I'll wait for my gf to read them first - see what she thinks. I'd ... More


Posted by flipsix3 at 19:35, 06 February 2008 \| Report This Post



Good Effort
I throught it was good but not great. It has great special effects but it's a bit predictable. The books are for children and adults but the film seems to be focused more towards children. ... More


Posted by white mage at 13:15, 01 February 2008 \| Report This Post



oh dear...
well, the title syas it all, really. This was, and still is my favourite book, one of dazzling adventure, high fantasy and some truly cinematic set pieces. So why did it nor translate? Yes, i know the religion, but that does not allow the removal of the most vital themes in the film? Instead of an epic journey across exciting, scary locations all witnessed throught the eyes of a child, i got a rather listless trudge across a bunch of cliches, where's that expositional dialogue betewenn Lyra and ... More


Posted by TOMmyn@t0r at 22:17, 30 January 2008 \| Report This Post



oh dear...
well, the title syas it all, really. This was, and still is my favourite book, one of dazzling adventure, high fantasy and some truly cinematic set pieces. So why did it nor translate? Yes, i know the religion, but that does not allow the removal of the most vital themes in the film? Instead of an epic journey across exciting, scary locations all witnessed throught the eyes of a child, i got a rather listless trudge across a bunch of cliches, where's that expositional dialogue betewenn Lyra and ... More


Posted by TOMmyn@t0r at 22:17, 30 January 2008 \| Report This Post



Could have been SOOOO much better
Disappointed!!!!! Kidman is chilling as Mrs. Coulter and the girl who plays Lyra is good but the movie is missing so much of the book (to be expected I know, but still). The ending is one of the biggest WTF moments I have ever had at a movie. Great effects but still of whom much was expected, much was required. I hope that they just had the jitters coming out of the gate and that the next movie will be better. ... More


Posted by lynnshep at 15:53, 27 January 2008 \| Report This Post



The Golden Compass
I only went to watch this because it was Christmas eve and my younger cousin was with me, I wasn't expecting to be impressed.............................................. ..I wasn't. I read Empires review and listened to my friends opinions before I went to watch it, they told me it was boring and confusing. With that in mind, I thought that I must make every effort to listen to what is going on throughout the film. Even for a teenager or adult, it is just a mess. There were children in the ci... More


Posted by JACK M14 at 16:28, 20 January 2008 \| Report This Post



The Golden Compass
This wasn't as bad as the reviews I have read led me to believe. It's very much a kids film and feels a bit disjointed and rushed into just under 2 hours. Most of the scenes could have done with being expanded a bit so that it felt a bit more like a story rather than a collection of scenes. CGI is good - especially liked the Daemons and the bear fight. Definitely worth a visit to the cinema for that alone. ... More


Posted by trueborndjross at 09:26, 17 January 2008 \| Report This Post



So close, but so dull...
A stunning example of the importance of the Director. A stellar cast (almost all good), wonderous story, stunning concepts, brilliant design and (mainly) good CGI. And yet it was boring and listless... Sir Ian was a bit "one note" (as if he'd had no time to rehearse), and King Jim Carter had so much eye-liner on he'd have made Jack Sparrow feel he needed a bit more mascara - but generally the film ended up far less than the sum of its parts. A great shame, because I suspect that any... More


Posted by The Voice of Fate at 13:45, 16 January 2008 \| Report This Post



RE: Lovely Romance, Hugh Jackman dazzles.
Pretty fucking awful. I'm actually that disappointed that I'm not going to bother reviewing it in detail. The editing was absolutely fucking shocking though and new characters seemed to come and go at random. A wasted opportunity. 1.5/5 cos some of the FX were nice. ... More

Posted by Mr Underhill at 18:41, 13 January 2008 \| Report This Post



RE: Lovely Romance, Hugh Jackman dazzles.
Not nearly as bad as many have made out - I haven't read the books therefore had no (overly high?) expectations going in. It's enjoyable enough, certainly held my attention throughout, though I agree with the criticism that it jumps from scene to scene with not that much flow in a number of places. It's weird as hell (a dropout alcoholic polar bear?!?) which is sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing. It's nothing special, but worth seeing. 6/10 ... More


Posted by Paul2j at 11:58, 13 January 2008 \| Report This Post



RE: Lovely Romance, Hugh Jackman dazzles.
I feel that people who HAVEN'T read the books will enjoy it more than those who have. Personally, I thought it made sense to have that fight as the climax. And again, this would only bother you if you'd read the book. ... More

Posted by le4kim at 16:14, 10 January 2008 \| Report This Post



Lovely Romance, Hugh Jackman dazzles.
Having read ''The Dark Materials'' years ago and owning them i was pleased to hear, yet also worried to hear they were making a film of this. Follows the story of Lyra in a parellel universe where people have a daemon (animal spirit) that is their soul, a part of them. What transpires is a complex plot revolving around Children, Dust, the Compass and The Authority. I can see why they have called this ''The Golden Compass'', and not ''The northern Lights''. Im not a book purist but they have comp... More


Posted by alexisreaver2132 at 17:29, 08 January 2008 \| Report This Post




I am not normally one to like fantasy films, and for me this was no exception. I could not grasp the story line and I think that it was poorly written. I did though like the Ice Bear Fight I thought that that was a very good bit of CGI. . ... More


Posted by brown48 at 20:22, 07 January 2008 \| Report This Post




This wasn't as bad as I was lead to believe. Perhaps I wasn't that bothered about the mythology so I sat there and enjoyed it for what it was. CGI animals were superb, the best I have seen and very cute! But we could have done with more of the adults. Kidman and Craig were hardly on screen. ... More


Posted by Gold Digger at 11:26, 06 January 2008 \| Report This Post



RE: A great story ruined
After finishing 'The Northern Lights', I can now see just how much the film missed the plot. It had all the potential to achieve great things...but instead it ended up as a sloppy christmas cash in, which confused people who hadn't read the books and annoyed people who had. Now off to read the second book and will certainly be avoiding the second film! ... More

Posted by =JD= at 00:37, 06 January 2008 \| Report This Post



RE: A great story ruined
Never read the book, went to watch the film with low expectations, and I turned out to be right. it wasn't 'bad' as such, there just wasn't anything that made me think it was that good. And Daniel Craig- he had what, two scenes? I'm not sure how much Asriel is in the book, but from the way the character was introduced it felt like he would of been a central protagonist. ... More

Posted by DaveNewman18 at 21:34, 03 January 2008 \| Report This Post



RE: A great story ruined
The film was fairly enjoyable, not as good as the books by any means. But then adaptations tend not to be. I just hope they release an extended edition/directors cut on DVD, which will hopefully be a bit more coherent and faithful to the source material. ... More

Posted by =JD= at 19:40, 02 January 2008 \| Report This Post



A great story ruined
First off all I would like to point out I am a huge fan of the books. My first opinion was that some guy who had never read the books was brought in by Hollywood and on the second page of the book he dropped it of some high place losing some pages and rearrangement the rest as he pleased shortening the book to 100 pages. The film itself felt very rushed with no attention to detail and was not fluid at all, and the big climax battle seemed to have been made so long to please the kids. (in the boo... More


Posted by davieboy at 21:23, 01 January 2008 \| Report This Post



Read this Olly.
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/12/golden_com pass_scripts.ht ml It wasn't Weitz's fault. ... More


Posted by Roll at 19:14, 31 December 2007 \| Report This Post



very good
if you're a fan of narnia and harry poter then you will probably enjoy this film it could have been better but I still enjoyed it and I am looking foward to the next not the best film of the year but still a very enjoyable film ... More


Posted by ryanand conor at 13:46, 31 December 2007 \| Report This Post



RE: Excellent Adaptation
Hey. I saw this on release and had mixed feelings. I think the biggest mistake was the whole not finishing thing. The origonal ending will be a strange start to the second film. Anyways, I wrote a review. Check it out. Oh and Empires review was a good read, I thought. ... More

Posted by PhaedrusX at 02:57, 31 December 2007 \| Report This Post



Excellent Adaptation
This film exceeded my expectations. I was nervous to begin with because I was worried about what they might have cut from the book. I knew they had chopped the ending, they had swapped Svalbard and Bolvanger around and cut any specific mention of the church, so i was a bit prepared for what I thought was going to have been a massacared story. And it wasn't. The film hit almost every point that the book did, staying very faithful to the story. Yes, New Line were idiots in editing it the way they ... More


Posted by Wilbo at 02:18, 31 December 2007 \| Report This Post



sorry,but I thought it was okay
Not read the books (yet) so went in with an open mind and quite enjoyed it. Yes there are flaws, but there were some interesting ideas and although it was not deep enough, I enjoyed the alternative vision of our society. Saw this the day after I Am Legend and found this the more entertaining of the two. ... More


Posted by bretty at 00:26, 31 December 2007 \| Report This Post




Obviously an awful awful film, really truly one of the worst. How many times can one battle have another last minute secret ally army not quite manage to overturn the tide - I counted 4... My BIGGEST disappointment was that you guys ran your sycophantic feature article 2 months before the review turned up! Is this the film fools telling you when to publish or did it really take you this long to arive at this decision? ... More


Posted by Shredator at 19:51, 30 December 2007 \| Report This Post



Pile o Pants
Have literally just returned from watching this drivel, I was so angry that I had to vent my spleen somewhere. Firstly, if you are a fan of the books don't bother going to see this film, it takes everything that is good about the opener and just chops it about into vignettes of crapness. The importance of Lyra is mentioned in passing, Daniel Craig has a shave and Nicole Kidman spanks her monkey. I'm that annoyed I can't string a coherent sentence together. Just don't bother. Gargh,,,,,,, ... More


Posted by badsandwich at 23:37, 27 December 2007 \| Report This Post



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The Golden Compass This year’s Christmas family disappointment

The Golden Compass
This year’s Christmas family disappointment