The Golden Compass Review

Maybe we should blame "Lord of the Rings".

Because ever since Peter Jackson's astounding commercial and critical success adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy series, every other fantasy-themed film (the Narnias and Eragons or the world) has (probably unfairly) come off as a second-rate pretender.

For example, a deathmatch between two armor-clad polar bears should've come off as one of the biggest spectacles of the year. I mean, they're ARMOR-CLAD polar bears. Instead, it's mostly just another nice, well-done sequence (my favorite in the film, by the way) in another special-effects heavy literary adaptation of a beloved fantasy book.

It's not necessarily beloved by me. Now, calm down! I'm not part of the Catholic League or any of the other religious groups who've condemned Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy (and condemned the movie before watching it). I just haven't read the books.

Since I'd never read the books, I was fairly confused early on in the story, which involves a young girl named Lyra (newcomer Dakota Blue Richards in a parallel world living in Oxford's Jordan College. She embarks on an odyssey to rescue her friend and other children who have been kidnapped by a mysterious, oppressive organization called the Magisterium that is trying to stop Lyra's uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) from making a potentially life-altering discovery.

Then I realized that the reason I was confused wasn't because I'd never read the books — it was because this isn't a very effective movie. People who've read the books will no doubt debate about in the movie what was included, omitted or different from the book. (So I can't really get into an informed debate as to how all or most of the overtly religious references have been taken out). As for me as a relative newbie — I'm just trying to decide how this works as a movie.

What works is Richards, who proves to be a very capable and likable actress and a strong protagonist. What also works is casting strong actors like Daniel Craig and Eva Green (the great "Casino Royale" duo) in what amount to glorified cameos in this movie. They don't have much to do, but they still make a strong impression. I'm assuming they (especially Craig) probably have bigger roles in the later books/movies.

What worked best of all for me was Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter, who was probably colder than much of the movie's icey setting. Mrs. Coulter takes Lyra under her wing, though it quickly becomes apparent she's up to no good. Kidman (and her fun wardrobe) seems to relish playing the villainess, and her scenes with Richards were probably the movie's strongest.

What sort of worked were the special effects. As I mentioned, some of the wonder is inevitably gone thanks to the glut of fantasy films, but any scene with (the ever-so-slightly cartoonish looking) Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen) was good, as were Lyra's interaction with her dæmon(voiced by Freddie Highmore). In this world, a person's soul lives outside their body as an animal and is called a dæmon(that part is pretty cool too).

What didn't work? Well, other than the jumble at the beginning, there's the title apparatus itself, the alethiometer (or golden compass, for slow people like me). The way Lyra reads the golden compass was confusing and disappointing (considering this is an object coveted by everyone in the movie). The pacing was rushed and disjointed, making the storyline a bit disorienting. More importantly, a lot of important characters aren't properly fleshed out. In addition to Lord Asriel, I feel like I have no idea who the gyptians or Sam Elliott's aeronaut cowboy (wha!?) or the witches were (led by Eva Green's Serafina Pekkala) or what their motivations are to stop the Magisterium.

That's another problem. We're given a very cartoony look at the villainous Magisterium as they wear dark robes, meet in secret and discuss their evil plans. It'd be nice to know about how or why they're so dedicated to their mission, but there's no time.

Sometimes, it just feels like the movie got away from director Chris Weitz, who's previous directing credits include the very entertaining, but decidedly un-epic "American Pie" and "About a Boy".

Finally, in a pretty presumptuous move, the movie (intentionally) fails to tie up a bunch of loose ends in anticipation of sequels. I realize there were "Lord or the Rings" and "Pirates" movies that kinda left us hanging, but the difference between those and "Compass" is that those movies already had sequels (and resolutions) in the can. Judging by its opening weekend gross, a "Compass" sequel is no slam dunk.

And therein lies the problem. While it's entertaining in spurts, and nice to look at, the movie's just not strong enough to stand on its own. It's not strong enough to stand on its own as the start of a potential blockbuster franchise (ala Harry Potter, etc) and it's not strong enough to stand on its own as a kickass fantasy movie. It kinda just leaves you hanging.

The Golden Compass...C+