golden_compass

The Golden Compass

U.S. Release Date: 12/7/07
Running Time: 1:53
Rated: PG-13 (Violence)

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ben Walker, Ian McKellan (voice), Eva Green, Jim Carter, Sam Elliott, Freddie Highmore (voice)

Director: Chris Weitz
Screenplay: Chris Weitz, based on the novel by Philip Pullman
Music: Alexandre Desplat
Studio: New Line Cinema

With The Golden Compass, New Line Cinema has attempted to strike gold in the fantasy/adventure/epic genre once more. Considering The Lord of the Rings trilogy has been fully adapted, New Line has placed all of its eggs into one basket—Philip Pullman’s His Dark Shadows series.

Hoping that The Golden Compass picks up where Frodo and friends left off (at least in terms of box-office results), New Line Cinema has handed a hefty budget to a surprising choice in writer/director, Chris Weitz (the writer/director of About a Boy and director of American Pie).

With the first novel of the His Dark Shadows trilogy as his muse, Chris Weitz has adapted a literary bestseller with flair and purpose. But, in terms of storyline, The Golden Compass is truncated and falls short of promise. The film realizes its full potential, but cannot be measured up to the likes of LOTR, The Chronicles of Narnia, or Harry Potter.

When orphan Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) learns of an extraordinary microscopic particle called “Dust,” she becomes curious to say the least. As her only living relative Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) leads a discussion on the matter, Lyra realizes that the Magisterium disapproves of Asriel’s journey to discover more about the world-uniting mystical speck.

In hopes to encounter ice-bears and “Dust” first-hand, Lyra joins Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) on her supposed trip to the North. Yet, when it becomes apparent that Mrs. Coulter is the leader of “The Gobblers” (a group who kidnaps children), Lyra links up with cowboy/aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliot) and ice-bear Iorek Byrnison (Ian McKellan, voice) to save her friend Roger (Ben Walker). All-the-while, Lyra lets her “golden compass” lead the way.

From its skirting of religious controversy to its inclusion of intriguing concepts, The Golden Compass is a smart, visually-pleasing, British endeavor that journeys into the endless world of truth-seeking magic. Nevertheless, Weitz only scratches the surface of the magic contained and leaves central topics largely undiscussed.

As far as the religious controversy surrounding the film goes, it is erroneous. Unlike the texts, that radiate an atheist point-of-view (from an atheist author) and preach anti-organized religion, The Golden Compass is more about liberating from “the system” than acting anti-Christian. If anything, the motion-picture adaptation is more affixed on the fight for freewill than the destruction of a Christian hierarchy and/or God. When all's said and done, The Golden Compass is simply a quest to promote free-thinking, and that alone doesn’t validate scrutinizing the picture under an offended Christian microscope.

The most intriguing aspect of The Golden Compass is found in the idea of animals walking/flying by the sides of humans as their souls. This concept not only appeals to animal lovers, but also creates two entities capable of feeling harm and/or love for each character. For instance, when a protagonist and villain quarrel, their daemons assist in settling the score.

Intermittently sprinkled between the main plot thread is the vague concept of “Dust.” In these magically particles, answers come sparingly and without full explanation. Without delving into specifics, “Dust” is left as merely a mystical force. What’s more, the mere assumption that all of the world’s inquiries can be satisfied by the combination of a handful of symbols is silly. While the picture’s alethiometer supposedly lays all questions to rest, viewers must wait for further clarification on both topics in the eventual sequels.

All-in-all, The Golden Compass simply doesn’t contain enough juice to result in a cohesive package. Then again, much like after viewing the first chapter of the LOTR, viewers are left longing for more. Beware: if you arrive to watch The Golden Compass on an empty stomach, it leaves you hungry for not only more polar bear battles, but also The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.