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I had really high hopes for this one. After being bombarded with numerous LOTR-slash-Potter wannabe movies, I was really ready for another major fantasy flick that would rock the genre anew. It’s not that this was a bad movie, far from it actually. But it fell short of my expectations.

The cinematography and special effects is top-notch. They recreated Lyra’s world beautifully. You really do believe that their parallel universe exists, that’s how good it is. The props and costumes make you feel like their world is as real as ours. I was particularly impressed with The Golden Compass. I want one myself!

The acting is solid, throughout. Newcomer Dakota Blue is a gem as Lyra. She’s exactly right for the part and there’s no doubt that she’s a good actress. She’s scruffy and tomboyish. I love her Lyra’s spunk and petulance. I love her scenes with Nicole Kidman, especially when she’s being stubborn and rebellious. One gripe though: Her accent is so thick sometimes, I don’t understand what she’s saying!

Speaking of Nicole, she should start playing villains more often. She is cold, manipulative, and frighteningly enigmatic as Mrs. Coulter. I love how she captures the character’s essence—how, like in the books, you can’t tell right away if she’s good…or pure evil.

Daniel Craig is yummy…I mean, ahem, fantastic as the equally mysterious Lord Asriel. There just isn’t enough Daniel in this movie. You may argue that I’m biased ’cause we all know that, for me, there isn’t enough Daniel in any movie (whether he’s in it or not) but this time, I’m being objective…ish.

The other two actors that stand out are Sam Elliot as Lee Scoresby and Eva Mendes as the benevolent witch Serafina Pekkala. Although, I have to say that I think I’ve seen Sam Elliot play that role before. There’s a very strong sense of déjà vu to his performance. Eva’s portrayal makes me want to be a witch myself! Her Serafina is beautiful and fierce at the same time. Very much like in the book, too.

Then there’s Iorek Byrnison, the armored bear that Lyra befriends. The CGI work on him is exceptional. There was a lot of hullabaloo about using Ian McKellen to voice Iorek. It doesn’t bother me, except that I think that if polar bears could talk, their voice would sound more gravelly than his did.

But as far as voicing goes, it’s Lyra’s daemon Pantalaimon’s that I’m unhappy with. Superb young actor Freddie Highmore voices Pan. I’m not sure that his voice fits Pan’s character. It’s just too kiddie and cartoon-y.

And here’s my biggest gripe about the movie—the daemons. They’re supposed to be the animal manifestation of the humans’ souls in their world. In the book, Pullman illustrated the unique and powerful bond between a human and his or her daemon in his books. (Natch, they are their souls after all!). In the movie, they seem more like pets than daemons. The special bond that Lyra and Pan have does not translate in the film at all. Boo! That’s one of the reasons why splitting Lyra from Pan and the other kids from their daemons don’t feel as horrific as it should. Double boo!

The best parts of the movie are the one-on-one battle for the throne between Iorek and another armored polar bear Ragnar Sturlusson and the climactic battle for the children’s freedom—with Iorek (yes, again), the witches, and the Gyptians joining the fray.

I read the books but that was a long time ago so I have a very vague recollection of the plot. I won’t mention it here because it would be moot anyway. One of the biggest problems of the movie is that if you’re not familiar with the material, you will have a hard time following the story. The movement from one scene to the next felt clunky—the transitions weren’t seamless. I felt like I was jumping from one scene to the next one and missing out vital information in between.

And that ending. That ending was just too abrupt.

Recap: Love the world they create, it feels real. Love the acting, it’s pretty solid throughout. Love the scenes with Iorek, especially the epic ones. Don’t love that the plot is clunky and that the daemons feel like nothing more than cute accessories. Wish that there was more wonder and magic in it, story-wise, I mean.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2007 at 9:00 am and is filed under Media (Books, CDs, DVDs, Movies). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.