All Points North [Movie Only] (The Golden Compass (DVD))

Member Name: marandina

Product:	The Golden Compass (DVD)
Date:	18/01/08 (199 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great set pieces, lovable polar bears

Disadvantages: Slow start, annoying child actors

In a genre dominated by movies featuring young children emerging through wizardhood, battling he who should not be named and throwing star-spattered conical hats in the air at the end of every story, there was decreed (only because we were getting a bit bored with the bespectacled young hero) a changing of the guard and a new fantasy franchise borne of a different author. Yes, having spanned the years dating back to 2001, the Harry Potter phenomenon finally looked like it had met its successor, having flirted with serious competition in the guise of Disney's "Chronicles of Narnia" saga, in the shape of the blockbuster release of this Yuletide: "The Golden Compass".

In a parallel universe amongst an Infinite number of universes, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) is determined to prove the existence of "Dust", a substance that originates in another universe and enters a person's body through their daemon (an animal residing outside of a person's body that equates to their soul). Fearing the implications of this discovery and the threat to their power, the ruling body - The Magisterium - is determined to stop Asriel proving his theory. Appealing successfully for funds to undertake a hazardous expedition to the frozen North, Asriel leaves with both the mystery of the recent, sinister disappearances of children still unresolved and his niece, Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards), determined to follow him.

Following a visit to Jordan college by "an important person", Lyra (who is a ward of the college) is offered the opportunity to assist Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman), on her own journey to the (Arctic) North, after having been giving a device called an alethiometer by the master of the college. The alethiometer is the last of its kind, the rest confiscated by the Magisterium, and has the power to answer any question, stating the truth, assuming that the owner has the power to read it. Discovering that Mrs Coulter is actually the head of the General Oblation Board, which appears to be the official name for the insidious Gobblers, a twilight gang who are responsible for kidnapping the children, she escapes along with her daemon and sets off in pursuit of her uncle, followed closely by Coulter and the full fury of the Magisterium.

The Golden Compass is a fantasy film based on Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy of books, "The Golden Compass" (known as "Northern Lights" in the UK) being the first in the sequence. At $180 million, it is one of New Line's biggest-budget projects and attempts to translate the best-selling book to film, capturing the theology of the book in the process.

In terms of big screen presence and spectacular effects, the results are impressive. Directed and screen written by Chris Weitz, the set pieces shot in Norway are stunning, as are the CGI sequences that go with it. The polar bear creations are adorable and a sure-fire winner with the kids, even if the armoured bear subplot, complete with Scandinavian names like Iorek Byrnison and voiced by British luvvie, Ian McKellan, takes us into the most violent sequences in the story. The Oxford colleges used in filming for the earlier shots look magisterial and the apocalyptic battle at the end is a dramatic way to close out this installment, even if the effects merging the witches in with the other battle participants isn't so convincing.

There are lots of things that don't work with the movie. The cast of children led by Dakota Blue Richards all look and sound like urchin rejects from the cast of "Annie the musical". What with all those irksome colloquialisms from the imagination of Pullman and a borderline, Cockney child, chimney sweep look, for the most part the kids grated on me, even if shadowy figures in the night were continually snatching them and whisking them off to a secret location for nefarious purposes. I almost expected Dick Van Dyke to turn up, holding his braces, singing "The Lambeth Walk" in the most dreadful, imitation Cock-er-nee accent ever with a line of soot-faced kids trailing after his nibs.

With the story needing explanation to begin with, the movie takes quite a while to settle down and for anyone unfamiliar with the book then I would suspect that they would find it all a bit dull to start off with. Perhaps most of all, the ending wasn't as I remembered it in the book and the tepid link to the second movie was all a bit too cautious for me when we already had a decent denouement outlined in Pullman's literary work. Both of the leads seem decidedly understated. Daniel Craig doesn't look like Craig but is rather hidden under an explorer's beard and constant frown while Kidman looks so prim and full of authority that it seems like she's still miles away thinking about her "Something Stupid" duet with Robbie Williams. It was hard to empathise with either of them.

Still, the religious dogma from the book is brought out for the most part and the quasi Catholic church of The Magisterium is suitably sinister, with robed priests trying to poison their opponents and grim looking daemons up to no good at their master's behest. The whole concept of the Middle Ages type thinking is neatly outlined and you do get the feeling that The Magisterium and its minions are determined to control the population, both in terms of behaviour and beliefs. Better still, the movie lays the groundwork for future conflict and the customary struggle between good and evil.

With a PG certificate and a run time of 113 minutes, "The Golden Compass" is a big budget, fantasy production that will delight most children. With polar bears and witches, aeronauts and cute, animal daemons, the movie possesses all the ingredients to keep younger children and undemanding adults interested to the back beat of a perfunctory musical score by Alexandre Desplat. With adventure and battles, chases and dramatic show downs, "The Golden Compass" is a passable introduction to the "His Dark Materials" trilogy although, there is a genuine opportunity, just like the first Harry Potter movie, to improve on a ponderous opening and establish the franchise fully in the sequel. With the screenplays for the second and third installments "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass" commissioned by New Line, the production of any subsequent movies is dependant on the final takings for the first movie. A relatively poor performance in the U.S. was followed by success on release world wide, making the decision to press on with more movies increasingly likely. If and when they do get made, no doubt I'll be there watching and hoping that the director takes more of a risk with the sequels.

Thanks for reading

Mara

Summary: Overview of movie