The Golden Compass 2007
This was a movie I had meant to see when it came out, but it seemed like it got marginal reviews. The serial fantasy movie has gotten a little tired with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, plus whatever others are out there. I had read those books at least before seeing the movies. But I was going in cold to The Golden Compass, as I imagine a lot of people were. If this movie had come out before the others, then it would be considered the masterpiece and the others would be imitators.
There is a lot to explain. For one thing, every character also has a “demon,” a talking animal version of the person’s soul. So the cast is twice as big right off the bat. I liked the animals and seeing what animal represented different people. Another nice thing is that it allows a character to have a conversation with themselves essentially when some explanation is needed and they would otherwise be alone.
You also have to learn how the world is set up politically. Then there are mysteries about connections between some of the characters. There is the whole purpose of the movie which has to be explained. So there is a ton of exposition. Really entirely too much exposition. Being based on a book, I’m sure there was quite a bit that had to be cut out, but I would say that even more needed to be cut. It reminds me of how George Lucas tried to cram so much boring exposition into the three Star Wars prequels. Lastly, there is a big teaser for a sequel at the end that makes it seem like nothing in the entire movie was actually resolved.
Reading about The Golden Compass afterwards, I found out that making the movie was a struggle, with a change of writers before filming and a change of directors afterwards. There were also creative disputes with the studio. Not only that, but the last three chapters of the first book were left for the sequel, so there is a very good reason the movie seems incomplete. There is also some controversy over the movie being critical of the Catholic church, which seems misplaced. The movie is critical of totalitarianism and promotes free thought.
So it doesn’t sound very good. But actually it is a pretty good movie. The main character, Lyra, is good, the mythology is actually pretty good, and I like all the animals wandering around. Nicole Kidman plays her role perfectly while looking fantastic. I just wish I could have enjoyed some of that at a more leisurely pace (it may be I just need to watch it again). In many ways, this movie is every bit as good as the Harry Potter series. Like that series, it is intended for kids, but some of the material is pretty dark and there are a lot of fights and killing here. This is more grown up with less humor than Potter.
The DVD I saw had absolutely no extras. This is a movie that cries for lots of extras, so if you buy it, get the expanded version. Due to the financial problems of the movie, it seems unlikely that the sequels will ever be made.
Written: 01 Jun 2008