The Golden Compass [2007] - DVD (Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ben Walker, Freddie Highmore - Dir: Chris Weitz)

Perhaps it didn't ignite the box office in quite the way it'd been hoped, but that's little reason to pass over the qualities of The Golden Compass now it arrives on DVD. Based on the Phillip Pullman novel His Dark Materials--itself the start of the Northern Lights trilogy, the film isn't without a few problems, but emerges as a quality adaptation.

And you certainly can't fault The Golden Compass for sheer ambition. The story, for those new to the series, is primarily that of 12-year old Lyra, who is in search of her friend who has been kidnapped. Naturally, this proves to be quite a challenging adventure, not least because it's through Pullman's vividly imagined world, crossing dimensions as Lyra travels. The film, while toning down and fiddling with some elements of the source material, stays quite close to the book, and it proves to be a good, if not Lord Of The Rings-standard, adaptation.

What helps The Golden Compass, on top of the strong effects work and scope of the production, is a solid cast, featuring the likes of Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards. And it certainly whets the appetite for the next instalment in the series. Whether the muted box office returns put pay to that remains to be seen: for now, at least, The Golden Compass is a good, solid family movie that's easy to enjoy. --Jon Foster

Customer Reviews of The Golden Compass [2007]

hamble
sunny ireland
29th November 2008

only so-so
what is bad about this film:

the script is APPALLING - we are spoonfed, almost literally, every action or plot-turn. subtlety is out-the-window. also, the script has been totally stripped of everything that makes it relevant or even interesting. for example, the religious allusions are non-existent. what is leftover is bland, neutral, insipid, meaningless and ultimately boring. the action scenes were action-filled but over too quickly and ultimately who cares!

what is okay about this film:

the acting is about as good as it CAN be with a script this inept. the music score, while being play-by-numbers, is effective enough, although i can't recall a single motif worth remembering once the film has finished.

what is good about this film:

actually very little. the animations, CGI and cinematography are gorgeous and second-to-none. the realisation of alternative-oxford and -london are exquisite. the daemons are effectively realised and animated. the editing is tight. the cast is effective and actually quite inspired, bearing in mind that readers will have their own preconceptions. eva green as the witch queen was perfect! dakota blue whatever-her-name-is as lyra was okay, that even that okayness is good, seeing that we are not supposed, initially (in the book) to find her particularly appealing as an individual. anyway, at least she isn't disney-cute-perfect, thank god! nicole kidmas was, as she always is, mesmerising in the role. iorek (voiced by the ubiquitous ian mckellan) was - well, what can you say? - it was just ian mckellan being ubiquitous.

all-in-all, looks good but have done better. for the second installment of the trilogy my advice is: stick closer to the theme of the book.

britsurfer1

26th November 2008

Terrible terrible terrible movie
I hadn't heard of the Golden Compass before but I expected something like the Chronicles of Narnia or a cross between Lord of the rings and Harry Potter. It was nothing like that.

To be blunt, the acting was aweful, even from more famous actors like Nicole Kidman. The young girl who was playing the lead was very annoying and a poor actres. The story line was pitiful, it was obvious that many of the special effects shots had been re-used which often meant the continuity was appalling.

This film was aweful in every way, it was not believable due to the acting and poor story. I hope they do not release a sequel, despite them building up for one.

A N Other
UK
10th November 2008

rubbish
This movie is an unimaginative, disjointed, incomprehensible waste of time. Very poorly edited, it's a real botched version of Pullman's story which is itself far, far less 'special' than most Amazon reviewers would have you believe. If my child was entertained by this dross, I'd be concerned! I'm just glad I didn't pay to see it.

stevralph
UK
1st November 2008

Fantastic
Well I thought this film had a fantastic story line and full of energy. Can not wait for the follow up!

barnie884
Netherlands
24th October 2008

Pretty good version of the book
I had read the books, and was not sure if I was looking forward to this..... would it be a Lord of the Rings or one of the many failures. I was happy to say that it was a very good adaptation without seeming to miss out anything major. One thing I would say is that it gave away too many secrets in the opening you dont find out till book 2, and then it finished at a different place to book 1 which I found rather strange. Still cant figure out why they changed the name from Golden lights though..... All in all, it would have been 5 stars apart from those small issues, but well worth a purchase!