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Plot: In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.
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The Golden Compass Recent Reviews
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 11, 2008It's a grand adventure with solid acting and voice work and award winning special effects. At times it felt rushed, not setting the scenes for those of us unfamiliar with the world created in the books. There's also a big controversy. You may have seen warnings from members of many Christian church denominations and you'll even see them here within Flixster reviews. I'll agree that the movie is not for the very young because there are some violent battles and scary creatures that could cause nightmares. Other fantasy films have caused nightmares for children like The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and The Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch. But that's not really what the warnings are about. The movie can definitely be seen as portraying the church as a bunch of conniving, authoritarian people against free-thought. Though in general any corrupt authority could be inserted. C.S. Lewis's beliefs influenced his famous fantasy series, and of course Philip Pullman's beliefs influenced his fantasy series, which this movie is based upon. These Christians who have been spreading these warnings obviously want to control the stories and beliefs that people are exposed to, and because of their actions they are further proving that their character is accurately portrayed in this film. They are harming society by trying to protect impressionable children. As a friend jokingly said to me, "We all saw kids rushing to become Christians after The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe came out. They were flooding the streets. So, they're worried kids will become Atheists now just because they see this movie." If kids do learn to think for themselves and question untrustworthy authority some times and this causes them to turn away from the church then it is because of the truth in Pullman's ideas, not because of some magical effect from the light on the screen or ink on the page. The movie ended, well not so much ended as left you hanging on a cliff, and I wanted more. I love the theme, so I hope the filmmakers are able to continue and finish this grand adventure.
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MCT:August 6, 2008Wonderful.
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MCT:July 2, 2008I've read, and reread all three books, starting with The Golden Compass at age 13.
Where to start? Much MUCH better than I expected this to be handled; I was very relieved, trust me. I'd always wondered who they would cast as Serafina Pekkala (though in the books SHE is blonde and Mrs. Coulter has BLACK hair!) and Eva Green could not have been more perfect. The cast of actors, really, is perfect, and Lyra's accent even has the "en't" I was hoping to hear.
The knife scene - I was crying. While most people point to the atheist connotations (and to be sure, there are), I personally feel that the main point of the movie is that the Authorities choose not only to ignore, but encourage and support rampant child abuse. I live in Ontario, Canada, and that is one of Ontario's biggest, darkest, dirtiest secrets. Maybe that is why I identify with both the movie and the books so well.
But... at the same time... It feels like there was some small little thing missing from it, and I don't know what...
Have you ever wondered what your daemon is? I know mine! :D -
MCT:June 13, 2008As much as my tastes have matured over the years, the one thing that i'll never grow out of is fantasy. It's something that's always charmed me since I was a kid... i'm a big sucker for anything like Lord of the Rings or even the game World of Warcraft. I love the vast worlds with different races and creatures lurking around every corner. Yes, i'm a nerd. But luckily for me and fellow fantasy nerds, there's a good amount of decent to great fantasy films. The Harry Potter films are a blast, and even The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was entertaining. The Golden Compass, however... not so much.
I've never read the novel this movie was based on, but the story is very creative and entertaining. It's something i'd definitely be interested in reading. I enjoyed the aspect of the children being "forced" to grow up by taking away their constantly changing animals. The "demons" are metaphorical of the innocence and imagination of childhood. In that regard, it's a very powerful and clever story. I don't get the whole religious outcry people gave this film... Aslan in Narnia is one thing, but I didn't see religious comparisons here. I saw free will vs. oppression, innocence vs. corruption.
The film, however, made me feel like it was adapted from the cliff notes of the book. It goes from point to point to point with absolutely no filling inbetween. I just finished watching the movie and I couldn't name you five characters and their defining attributes... all I saw was an elaborate plot with people I could care less about. This is bound to happen when you try to cram an epic story into a two hour movie, but man did this ever fail. You would think you could target a wide audience of children who enjoys films like The Chronicles of Narnia, but I cannot fathom how a child could make it through an hour of this movie without being bored to tears. You've never seen such an imaginative film with so little charm. There's nothing you can even force yourself to care about.
The biggest problem with the film is that the flow was always off and the world never seemed unique. When you watch Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, you know you're in Middle Earth. When you're watching Harry Potter, you know you're at Hogwarts. The Golden Compass, however... it leaves absolutely no impression on it's viewer whatsoever. Everything is so stagnant and uninspired.
The polar bears and just about all the landscapes look very visually impressive but everything else is severely lacking. The dogs, ferrets, and cats look like they'd fit in if it was an animated feature, but interacting with their human counterparts really made them stick out like the cartoons in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Nicole Kidman's monkey looked so unrealistic it was absurd. It was one of the only crucial "demons" to the story, and yet it was hardly polished. I understand that it's not easy to create life like this on a computer, but I was astounded by the quality difference between the polar bears and the monkey.
This isn't a horrible film and you're bound to be atleast marginally entertained. The all-star cast is uninspired and doesn't have much to work with, but they're all fine. I liked Nicole Kidman's performance a lot.
Skip this. It certainly had great intentions and it was one hell of a noble effort, but it failed miserably. -
MCT:May 30, 2008i was expecting a lot from this kidman-craig collaboration...i expect this would be more fascinating than the similar movies...but i was really disappointed...
actually the movie itself is pretty good...but i disagree with those who think that Dakota Blue Richard is a perfect cast...first time i saw her in the movie, i didn't even realize that this is her, the girl who triumph over...i don't know..thousands, maybe of other girl who are willing to get her part...i'm sure there are plenty of girls who are way way much better than her...
Daniel Craig, in case you were wondering, is in the movie for about 10 minutes as Lyra's tweedy professorial uncle, who goes off to the North in search of Dust...i hope he is gonna have a larger role in the sequel...and just what is Dust??? that's the kind of movie The Golden Compass is..a fantasy that leaves you chattering about particles...
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MCT:December 3, 2008
When I watched this DVD I was kinda expecting another Chronicles of Narnia, and in part I think that's what I got. The sets were pictoresque, the landscape beautiful, and the glimpses of story I saw did make a decent attempt at holding onto my attention. The only problem I had was probably down to the fact that it's from a series of books. I got the impression that there were big chunks of story which had been cut from the film to squeeze it down to 2 hours; but that gave this feeling that you were missing out on loads of sub-plots. Maybe a sequel will pad it out, or maybe reading the books, I'm not sure. But for me it gave this feeling of a weirdly thin plot set against a major story without every really involving itself in it too much.
I'd say this would be a good film for those who've read the books, or who don't get into film plots that much.
Comments
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carla223posted 22 days ago -
movie is ok. But please,
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN AT WORLD'S END DESERVED THE OSCAR FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS MORE THAN GOLDEN COMPASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!posted 75 days ago -
PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This movie and the books are horible! If you haven't read them or saw the movie, DON'T b/c the books are very bad. The writer told someone in an interview that though the stories he was trying to KILL GOD IN THE MINDS OF CHILDREN! ALSO AT THE END OF THE LAST BOOK HE KILLS GOD!! SO IF YOU BELIEVE IN GOD DON'T READ THESE BOOKS! If you don't believe me or you want to read more about what i'm saying go to http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.aspposted 120 days ago -
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hey does anyone know if the other two books are being turned into movies? if you do, please let me know.
posted 131 days ago -
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Dose Anybody Know Where I Can Watch The Movie.
I've Been DYING To See This Movie Since The Movie Came Out In Theaters!posted 175 days ago -
To be honest i could have directed it better...Sorry!
The actors were great Niclole kidman makes a great Mrs Coulter!
Compared to the book its pretty bad, The ending was stupid, and why???? Did Billy Costa die he was suppose to be saved! I hate it when things change!
Its totally messed up the sequels! Good luck whoever takes over for the next one =D
P.s Dont you just love Daniel Craigs Eyes! Mmmm!!posted 218 days ago -
Lame movie. Too much fantasy, to the point i could not enjoy the movie. I do like the polar bear scene though, because of it effects. I do not recommend it for anyone, unless your into EXTREAME fantasy.
posted 218 days ago -
Compared to the book atrocious - linear, lacking in scope, dire script. Amazingly i thought it was saved by the talented cast and wonderful effects. Hope a director's cut is imminent and that chris weitz doesn't direct the sequels as his script was flat and relied way to heavy on exposition. warner bros (new line ain't around no more) should try an actual director as opposed to a guy who made two decent films; american pie and about a boy. i'm sure he's nice guy but i thought he did an inadequate job at adapting it
posted 236 days ago
