REVIEW: The Golden Compass

The film adaptation of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Volume 1: The Golden Compass (see my earlier review of the books) directed by Chris Weitz is from the same company that brought us the stunning (and excellent) Lord of the Rings films: New Line Entertainment. Mad Professah saw the film on opening day at the Arclight Theaters in Hollywood.

Sadly, the film, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig is unable to achieve the same level of sheer entertainment or astounding spectacle as Peter Jackson's masterpieces. It's not immediately clear why this is so, because the source materials are arguably equivalently complex and nuanced portrayals of imaginary but fascinating worlds that would enthrall any audience.

However, there are significant differences between Tolkien's books and Pullman's books. Firstly, Tolkien's books have been thrilling kids of all ages for nearly three-quarters of a century while Pullman's books recently were published in their first decade anniversary edition. Secondly, there are important structural differences between the two narratives. His Dark Materials' main character is a pre-pubescent girl who is the subject of an ancient ambiguous prophesy and whose parents are centrally important to the forces of good and evil. The Lord of the Rings is about a seemingly hopeless quest to rid the world of an incredibly powerful but seductive evil by a motley band of acquaintances.

The point is that the narrative structures lead to two very different cinematic storytelling experiences. The Golden Compass stars a newcomer, Dakota Blue Richards, who does an excellent job portraying the fickle, brave Lyra Delacqua who is at the heart of the His Dark Materials trilogy. The Lord of the Rings has an ensemble cast anchored by appearances by stellar veteran actors like Sir Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen, Hugo Weaving and Christopher Lee.

Interestingly, another feature that both movies have in common is Sir Ian McKellen, who voices the character of Iorek Byrnison, a talking ice bear in Compass and was nominated for an Oscar for inhabiting the pivotal role of the wizard Gandalf in Rings.

The main contributing factor(s) to the film adaptation of The Golden Compass failing to have the same impact on the audience as the book it is based on or the Lord of the Rings adaptations is the running time of 113 minutes and direction/script of Chris Weitz. Somehow there simply is not enough time in the filmic vision presented by Weitz in his reasonably faithful and creative adaptation of the first book to engage the audience at the same emotional level that Pullman's words on the page are able to produce. I think much of this is from the way in which information is revealed in the film which in the books is only gradually revealed in subtle ways that engages the reader in a much more actively involved way.

That being said, I do hope that New Line goes on to make the two sequels, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, into films as well. It is doing a bit better at the box-office internationally than it is doing domestically in the U.S.A. which may lead the studio to be able to recoup its initial investment.


GRADE: B-/C+.