The Golden Compass

Have you seen The Golden Compass yet?  What did you think?  Have your say & rate it here!

Well, you had to know I was going to go see this movie.  We’ve already had a very lively discussion by our own Ali in her most recent Friday Hot Topics post, so I thought we could round out the discussion with a review of the movie (it was the movie that stirred up all of this hullabaloo anyway).  I will state off the bat, that I have only just started (I mean today…like I said just started) reading the book on which this movie is based, so I can’t comment on how strictly they have or haven’t followed the book.  My Mom has been trying to get me to read them for several years now, as she has stated that she enjoyed them even more than the Harry Potter books.  My Mom has read just about everything that is fiction out there, so I figure she is a fairly good measure.  But other books (namely one Harry Potter 7) got in the way & The Golden Compass fell a bit by the wayside.  I will not deny that the controversy has renewed my interested in the His Dark Materials series.

So what exactly is the controversy?  Well, for those of you who haven’t heard anything about it (honestly I’d love to know where you’ve been because it sounds like a nice, peaceful place), the movie seems to be getting criticism from both sides now.  It started back in October when a group known as the Catholic League (apparently no actual affiliation with the Catholic church) came out against the movie because they felt Philip Pullman (the author) aimed to "bash Christianity & promote atheism to kids."  For what its worth this organization has published its own 23-page rebuttal to the books, & will sell it to you for $5 (capitalism at its best).  Many other Christian groups have followed suit, warning their constituencies against the "messages" in the movie.  Still other Christian groups have supported the movie’s overall themes of loyalty, honour, & friendship.  What I’m sure New Line Cinema didn’t count on was a backlash by the many Pullman followers who believe that they have so "watered-down" the story that it is a veritable shell of its literary incarnation. Frankly I’m not really shocked about this one, look at all of the criticism that the Lord of the Rings movies took, even though they are now generally regarded as the gold-standard for all "fantasy" movies to be judged by.

This is the thing.  The movie is good, not great.  It is cinematically beautiful, as you are transported to  an alternate universe, somewhat close to our own, but so slightly off that you have that "we’re not in Kansas anymore" feeling.  We follow Lyra Bellaqua, a young orphan (played with such nerve & defiance by unknown Dakota Blue Richards) on an epic adventure to save her friend Roger from a group, known to the children as "Goblers", who have been kidnapping children & conducting nefarious experiments on them.  Lyra is accompanied by her closest companion, her daemon Pan, which is the physical representation of someone’s soul or free-will (we had a lengthy discussion regarding whether or not other people can hear what your daemon is saying…our conclusion is no).  She meets good & bad people (& ice bears, witches, etc.) along the way on her quest to honour the promise she made to Roger.  Lyra is a bit of an anti-heroine.  She more often lies her way in & out of predicaments (frankly, some of the most enjoyable parts of the film) & she carries a tone in her voice that, when challenged, reminds me of many a pre-teen girl in our universe.  The problem starts to arise with these supporting cast of characters who are there to help or hinder Lyra’s quest.  I felt that the filmmakers spent so much time trying to "water-down" the religious overtones in the book, that they managed to "water-down" the supporting characters to the point of being boring, dull & often times incidental.  There are a few stand-outs in Nicole Kidman, as the twisted Mrs. Coulter, & Ian McKellan, as the disgraced ice-bear Iorek Byrnison.  But unfortunately the rest of the supporting characters, although the potential for them to be great is there, are never truly examined or fleshed-out.  What I am hoping is that these characters will get their due time in the subsequent movies, but unfortunately these 2 movies may never get made if Compass doesn’t see a big enough box-office return.

As far as the controversy goes, you would be hard-pressed to find anything even hinting at organized religion being the bad guy (yes, I know that the Magesterium is from the Catholic church, but a vast many don’t, including most of those impressionable young people that all of the fuss is supposedly being made on behalf of).  The bad guys are portrayed as a theocratic, Soviet Russia-type organization, that wants to do away with free-will & free thought, for what they see as the betterment of all.

I truly wonder whether boycotts & controversies actually keep people away from movies?  The old adage that "no press is bad press" comes to mind.  Frankly, I think the controversy put the movie (& subsequently the books) on a lot of people’s radar who otherwise would not have even known about it.  What may actually keep more people away are mediocre reviews.  I really wanted to love this movie.  I came away entertained, but not hold your breath, edge of your seat entertained.  More just "well that wasn’t a total waste of time."  Not exactly a glowing feeling.

Just as a little aside, I was astounded by the number of young children who were in the theatre (children under 7).  This is a PG-13 rated movie (in the US anyway, not quite sure if there is such a rating in Canada), mostly for violence.  My thought is that if you wouldn’t let your child see The Fellowship of the Ring due to violence, then the same should hold true for this movie.

So let us know what you thought about the movie (or the whole controversy).  I’m sticking with 3 stars, as it was entertaining, but left a lot to be desired.