The Golden Compass

• 
  
  April 7, 2009

  phubbs1

  Io be honest i just didn't follow this, its like a cross between LOTR, Narnia and Harry Potter and frankly im getting so bored of it, there're just all the same. There's nothing new here as its all been done with Potter, magical animals, spirits, witches etc I just cant see how i...( read more)t can be rated. Sure the effects are nice and the animals look cool but thats it. The cast is pretty awful, or at least Kidman and Craig anyway, the rest is a top notch bunch of English actors but again that has been done with Potter and LOTR, its seems to be the same classical English actors repeating themselves in a variety of silly fantasy films. Im sure kids will like it, maybe, it is long and I think its boring so maybe not. Without knowledge of the book its all double dutch haha and I have never heard of it before the film. Best bit was the polar bear fight er...and thats it, I could almost see a legion of elfs and Hobbits coming over the hill lol yawn.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  January 4, 2009

  ladyp1964

  strange story, interesting though not something I couldn't live without....... Having not read the book I can't comment on that one.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  December 28, 2008

  Camus123

  This movie took the book, removed all parts that might be in any way objectionable and served up the sum of its parts in a morsel that is palatable to the mainstream.
  I know that this is a movie review and not a book review, but having read this trilogy it is difficult to ignore...( read more) the total disregard for the philosophy, intelligence, and courage inherent in the actual series.
  Watching this movie pained me. Sacrificed on the altar of CGI our story is chopped up and delivered at such a frantic pace that I do not know how anyone who did not read the books could even understand it.
  We have taken the brave swagger of Lyra and turned it into Pippi Longsticking. They jump from scene to scene with no regard to how they come together much less the chronology from the books. All important messages to be conveyed are either removed or diluted to a point where they are pretty much unrecognizable.
  We have in this movie a simplified children's story that hardly an adult could understand due to its total mistreatment in the scattered telling. Instead of the profound we walk away from this movie with the thought "That kinda looked cool" running through our heads.
  I am so sick of Hollywood catering to the religious wrong. How about some original thought? I am saddened and hope that this will be redone someday to do it justice because the actual series, "His Dark Materials" by Pullman is fantastic. and begs, no, demands to be told properly.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  December 23, 2008

  kevinjoy98

  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.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  December 23, 2008

  AgentLexi2132

  ''It's an alethiometer. It's a truth measure - a golden compass. It enables you to see what others wish to hide.... You can ask any sort of question you can imagine. Once you've got your question framed...''

  In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far

  ...( read more) North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.

  Dakota Blue Richards: Lyra

  His Dark Materials: The Northern Lights, the original name for the book, in England. What a mysterious, enticing title for a book. The Golden Compass? Well, it doesn't quite have the same effect on us, does it? The use of the American name of the book for the film really didn't falter my opinion of the film, but as early warning signs come, it doesn't get much more obvious than this. We should have assumed from the start, that this was going to be a very different venture, to the book.

  ''There are many universes and many Earths parallel to each other. Worlds like yours, where people's souls live inside their bodies, and worlds like mine, where they walk beside us, as animal spirits we call daemons.''

  As a huge fan of Philip Pullman's epic trilogy, I had been eagerly anticipating this film adaptation for a long while. I had fallen in love with the books a while back, not due to the fantastical elements, but due to the way it introduced this fantastical parallel universe to the reader in a slow, subtle, familiar way and made it feel real and tangible. The books are gritty, rugged and at times violent, and the stories' themes are philosophical and even spiritual in a way. It grieves me to say that the film misses the point, concentrating instead, on the fantasy, the action and the giant talking polar bears.
  Franchises and series like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings have never apologized about their overt paganism. Likewise, The Chronicles of Narnia have never been accused of being subtle as a Christian allegory. These series, in both literary and film forms, have been massive hits due to their unapologetic natures that speak truths to their ardent fan bases. British writer Philip Pullman's darkly subversive anti-religious fantasy books have also been hugely successful, more so overseas than here in the States. Stripped of the books' overt atheistic messages, The Golden Compass takes a reverse psychology approach in its film treatment and oddly positions itself as an apology for Pullman's work. The result is a tepid affair that joins a long line of fantasy films about children discovering they are the chosen ones destined to save the world. At least this film is refreshing in its stance on girl-power as represented in the main character Lyra, played wonderfully by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards, who apparently is a graduate of the Dakota Fanning school of acting. Whether or not this tactic to strip the film of its soul (much like the Magesiterium strips children of their daemons) will make the film broadly appealing enough to warrant a franchise has yet to be determined.

  The Golden Compass manages to remain dull and unimaginative. Its idea that these people (who inhabit an alternate 'Earth) have their souls on their outside is an interesting one, yet on screen, we are supposed to relate to these characters by way of their animal accomplices, for instance: Lord Asriel's (Craig) is a beastly feline: strong and powerful who knows what's what; Marisa Coulter (Kidman) has a monkey of some sort; suggesting not a playful and cheeky persona but one that could change from good to aggressive very quickly; the other example is of the hero; Lyra Belacqua (Richards) whose daemon keeps changing from cat to bird to chipmunk suggesting she hasn't quite 'found herself' yet although the fact she's only about ten probably has something to do with this. Fine, you think but the faceless enemy soldiers that guard utopian government looking buildings as disturbing experiments go on inside are all accompanied with either Doberman dogs or wolves ? do the guards not have personalities? This is a glaring lack of consistency.

  ''It's an alethiometer. It tells the truth. You are meant to have it. You keep the alethiometer to yourself, it's of the utmost importance to yourself, to all of us, and perhaps to all creation.''

  The actual character hero of Lyra was also a problem. There are too many scenes that rely on child acting in this film and what's more, Lyra goes about her adventure as if she's twenty years older that what she actually is. She is smarter than she should be; braver and more of a leader than she should be. More often than not, she achieves things adult characters cannot: persuading the polar bear to join them; destroying the 'cutting' device and being able to negotiate her way out of death with a king polar bear who is a hundred times more powerful than she is. Of course if she was any older, the film would be Tomb Raider mixed with Narnia but that's a different story. I'm sure there was faithful material to the book somewhere in The Golden Compass but there's me thinking it was perhaps going to go down the route of Indiana Jones or The Mummy, how wrong I was. The film sets up its idea for its narrative in a similar adventure way, what with the mentioning of the alternative world (our world) and the giving of the compass to Lyra and yet it totally ignores its roots from here on. This film basically turns into a recruitment process with Kidman's and Craig's characters hovering around in the background although never creating a presence, this is cannon fodder for nine year olds, but then there's the complicated narrative and the fact other films of this genre, were for people of all ages anyway.

  What we are led to believe is that in this world, they haven't made the technological advancements like cars and aeroplanes (their cars resemble horse and carts without the horses and they fly around in blimps) yet build vast utopias, that still find room to house criminals of some description, whose main aim is to 'cut' away the souls of children at the first mention of the word 'dust' ? yes, it's that bizarre. Mangled in with this, the character of Iorek Byrnison (McKellan - who is a CGI Polar Bear hilariously resembling a down and out P.I. in a film noir when first introduced) is given a sub-plot involving him rediscovering his 'armour' (metaphor for masculinity) and from there, he develops into a really guilty example of a fatherly figure for Lyra after it's established she lost her father previously. Thrown in amongst all this tosh is a CGI fist-fight between two polar bears trying to prove who is 'king'.

  It is the right time to mention the cast: Nicole Kidman delivers an eerie and chilling rendition of Marisa Coulter; a person who knows people high up in whatever hierarchy the school has. She also seems to get nastier and nastier as the film progresses but some of her lines she's given do not aid her in her career: "I'll find you, Lyra!" Oh, how evil. But the biggest disappointment is Daniel Craig who's present for about three scenes and then vanishes.
  This will be the easiest pay-cheque, he'll ever pick up, unless they make a sequel. In short, avoid this film even if you are a fan of the genre.

  ''One compass remains, however, and only one who can read it.''

  Share This Review
• 
  
  November 24, 2009

  practicalkat925

  Despite Nicole Kidman's presense this movie was okay

  Share This Review
• 
  
  November 18, 2009

  totalefreiheit

  La verdad no me gusta este tipo de peliculas tipo Harry Potter o tipo Narnia. Así tengan muy buenos efectos. Simplemente la historia deja mucho que desear, pues no tiene ni pies ni cabeza. So sorry... Es exclusivamente para niños sin cerebro.

  Share This Review
• 
  
  November 18, 2009

  Ladiva4

  I know this won awards but...

  Share This Review
• 
  
  November 16, 2009

  tcapone59

  surprised that i liked this one,much better than i expected

  Share This Review
• 
  
  November 15, 2009

  bbwtigressntiger

  AWESOME...can't wait to see 2nd part

  Share This Review

View more The Golden Compass reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

• 
  November 12, 2008

  carla223

  Liked the movie. LOVED the books.
• 
  September 20, 2008

  karthu1993

  movie is ok. But please,
  PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN AT WORLD'S END DESERVED THE OSCAR FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS MORE THAN GOLDEN COMPASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 
  August 6, 2008

  beckybo620

  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.asp
• 
  July 28, 2008

  reveregirl2012

  The movie was OK just hated the ending
• 
  July 26, 2008

  FallenAngel1987

  hey does anyone know if the other two books are being turned into movies? if you do, please let me know.
• 
  July 10, 2008

  michellemcb1991

  best movie ever
• 
  June 11, 2008

  MovieLover57

  Dose Anybody Know Where I Can Watch The Movie.
  I've Been DYING To See This Movie Since The Movie Came Out In Theaters!
• 
  April 30, 2008

  Racaj

  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!!
• 
  April 29, 2008

  ILoveTheRobot

  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.
• 
  April 12, 2008

  confusedham

  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

• Nicole Kidman
• Daniel Craig
• Dakota Blue Richards
• Ben Walker
• Freddie Highmore
• Ian McKellen
• Eva Green
• Sam Elliott
• Jim Carter

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

• 
  The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (55%)
• 
  The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch... (67%)
• 
  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (69%)
• 
  Click (57%)

No facts approved yet. Be the first

• The actors who play Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter in The Golden Compass (Northern Lights) also star together in which movie?  Answer »
• What is the title of the Phillip Pullman adaptation soon to be released?  Answer »
• Which Philip Pullman children's novel will soon be on the big screen?  Answer »
• Name two movies that Daniel Craig and Eva Green act in together...  Answer »

• 
  How well do you know The Golden Compass?
  by tennispro55

  3 taken
• 
  The Golden Compass.
  by fb596637226

  75 taken
• 
  THE GOLDEN COMPASS
  by bluedolphin1975

  111 taken
• 
  The Golden Compass
  by fb771642831

  18 taken
• 
  Golden Compass Quiz363
  by fb1298920177

  1 taken

• His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass
• Extended Trailer
• His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass - Official Teaser
• The Golden Compass
• Final trailer for The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials)
• His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (Final Trailer)
• The Golden Compass - Lyra's Parents

• Willscrlt
• jennypark6
• eldinbalci...
• Greggamus
• dark19fairy
• siguraugur
• musicmaniac88
• navaronni

• 

  Chris Weitz Blames New Line For 'The Golden Compass' -- Do You?

  Posted by mrbicklethepickle
  1 day ago
• 

  Weitz: 'Golden Compass was emasculated'

  Posted by Petes1234567
  4 days ago
• 

  Comic Con: Chris Weitz Calls Golden Compass A Terrible Experience

  Posted by Petes1234567
  123 days ago
• 

  Pullman doubts 'Golden Compass' sequel

  Posted by SexiVixxEN
  493 days ago
• 

  No Plans for "Golden Compass" Sequel

  Posted by SexiVixxEN
  643 days ago

• 

  Like a Fairytale

  by Arianeta
  24 Movies
• 

  Jadakiss

  by jadakiss2008
  6 Movies
• 

  2007: From Best to Worst

  by neverteaseawea...
  50 Movies
• 

  Movies i have and movies i have seen

  by moongoddess200...
  183 Movies
• 

  my all time list

  by pettit87
  13 Movies