The Golden Compass - 2007

Directed By: Chris Weitz
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ben Walker, Freddie Highmore, Ian McKellon, Eva Green, Jim Carter, Tom Courtenay, Ian McShane, Sam Elliott, Christopher Lee, Kristen Scott Thomas, Kathy Bates, Derek Jacobi,

The Golden Compass is the first part of Phillip Pullman’s critically hailed His dark Materials trilogy. Originally entitled Northern Lights, in the prose version at least, the film is New Line cinema first post Lord of the Rings franchise. And boy what missed opportunity it has become. Despite valiant efforts from all involved The Golden Compass is so uninspiring, so underwhelming as to render the entire trilogy a moot point. Its not a complete mess, or a travesty, but it never once scales the heights of Jackson’s Rings epics or even immerses the audience in its parallel worlds and races in the same way Harry Potter has managed. The plot, what remains from the book that is feels slim to say the least. What’s worse, some potentially great characters are brutally underdeveloped in pursuit of pace, and foolish attempts to crank up the pressure. The only character to emerge with a fully rounded performance is Nicole Kidman’s Mrs Coultier. And even she lacks the depth graced upon Tolkien’s and Rowling’s creations.
The story opens as Lyra, a young girl is bestowed a Alethiometer, the titular Golden Compass, why, its not clear, but it seems she has an innate ability to read the future (the Alethiometer’s purpose) and everyone seems to be after Lyra and her compass. Again, this is never exactly explored or explained, but it seems that a less than nice organisation known as the Magisterium are hoping to possess for some ill defined evil scheme. Eventually Weitz throws in a series of different beings from Eva Green’s witch to a group of Gyptians (read pirates) as well as a Polar Bear (voiced by Ian McKellan). As Lyra goes on her journey, to save close friend Roger, she meets all of these curious characters along the way. The problem unfortunately is that most of these characters are used merely as signposted to Lyra in the next direction on her journey. The story briefly, in a clumsy scene of exposition, sets up Lyra as the chosen one, who will be responsible for the fate of world, but so jarring is the clunky dialogue that you’ll be lucky if your not daydreaming and missing all the important information anyway. Eventually the film builds to a slightly rousing fight between two polar bears. Though the back-story is another clunky scene so your emotional investment is at minimum when the fight finally unfolds. When the climax comes, Weitz shows not only his inexperience but also a complete lack of affection for the material and exposes himself as a long way short of the calibre of Peter Jackson and one wonders if New Line shouldn’t have found a more adept hand to bring this to the screen.
Perhaps the most incredulous moment however involves the cameo from Daniel Craig. After heading off toward the North Pole in search of Dust (don’t ask) he is kidnapped, only for a brief scene later to explain how he negotiated his release. Totally unsatisfactory and downright annoying this encapsulates how lazy this production seems.
Afraid to really tackle to hardcore material of the book, or even give the story a weighty context leaves the film lacking any sense of epic grandeur. As such it becomes almost laughable when the ridiculous cliff-hanger attempts to set up the sequel, instead leaving a feeling of bewildered bemusement at such a glaringly obvious missed opportunity.
By far the worst of all the fantast adaptations of late. This is certainly no Rings, and even the poorer Harry Potters and disappointing Narnia film were better than this. Things don’t bode well for the weightier parts 2 and 3, which providing the box office is good enough will inevitably arrive.