With the completion of “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and a prequel film still far off - if ever - along with only two more “Harry Potter” films, studios are digging through fantasy stories to find the next big thing. This brought New Line studios to Phillip Pullman’s fantasy book trilogy “His Dark Materials“, making the first story into a big budget extravaganza. Saving some money on the cast to make room for the effects, the only big name with any screen time in the film is Nicole Kidman (“Bewitched”) as a duplicitous emissary of the Magisterium. The story itself is rather dense, with many factions competing to find the mysterious golden compass and the girl who can control it. Children may marvel at the special effects wizardry of talking polar bears but may get lost in the complications of the overall plot.
The Magisterium is the ruling establishment in this alternate universe. In this alternate dimension, all humans have animal familiars called daemons, that travel with them and protect them. Crushing all dissent of its world view, the Magisterium faces a threat from an instrument of great power which has survived destruction - the golden compass. In the hands of someone who can read the compass, it would expose the truth and undermine the powers that be. Lyra is the young charge of Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig; “Casino Royale“), a free thinker and explorer who has been to the vast north and found something earth-shattering. Lyra had been safely studying at a boarding school, when she gained firsthand knowledge of the mysteries her uncle has discovered. This pulls her into a world beyond her understanding, of talking polar bears, ancient witches, and flying ships.
While the scenery and special effects have a historical feel to them, there is a mixture of futuristic machines which makes this alternate universe look entirely original. Sadly, with all the wonderful scenery and settings, the story doesn’t have the epic quality of “Harry Potter” or even “The Chronicles of Narnia“. While most criticism of epics are that the personal stories of the main characters get sacrificed to the overarching scale of the story, the opposite is true in “The Golden Compass”. While the audience learns a great deal about Lyra and Ms. Coulter, the histories and motivations of certain groups and the importance of an upcoming battle are lost. There seemed little real peril in the most dangerous situations, while the more mundane elements of the story, especially with Ms. Coulter’s daemon, felt more troubling. The film lacked a real emotional crescendo in the large battle at the end.
Another unfortunate aspect to the film, was the under use of both Christopher Lee and Daniel Craig, who had smaller parts in the film than the previews would lead you to believe. The most attention-grabbing characters in the movie are played by Sam Elliott (“Ghost Rider”) and a CGI polar bear voiced by Ian McKellan. Elliott has a lot of fun with his role as a cowboy pilot, while McKellan gives an angry but honorable personage to the warrior bear. The little girl Lyra, is spunky and stubborn, creating a character most children can empathize with.
“The Golden Compass” is a bumpy beginning to the trilogy which neither sinks the franchise nor causes it to soar. Hopefully, lessons will be learned in creating the sequel.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence.
