Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Golden Compass (2007)
Director: Chris Weitz
Movie review
From Time Out London
Bland, bloodless and bereft of magic, New Line’s corporate sanitisation of Philip Pullman’s exciting, provocative fantasy novel, ‘The Northern Lights’, strips the book of its humanity and soul.Just as the church-like Magisterium and the glacially glamorous Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman) are rumoured to be severing pre-pubescent children from their animal daemons (an external ‘familiar’ representing their inner soul), so this clinical dissection of Pullman’s vividly imagined parallel world cuts away the warm flesh and leaves only the bare bones.
The skeleton of the plot remains, albeit in a compacted, confusing form.
While zeppelins float above an alternate Oxford’s dreaming spires, wilful 12-year-old orphan Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) swears to rescue her kitchen-boy friend Roger from his child-cutter abductors. Lyra’s epic quest takes her to the frozen wastes of the Arctic Circle. Here, with the help of Lord Faa’s good-hearted Gyptians, ferocious ice bear Iorek Byrnison (badly voiced by a miscast Ian McKellen), cowboy aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), witch queen Serafina Pekkala (Eva Green) and a precious truth-telling instrument called an alethiometer, she confronts her enemies: the corrupt king of the ice bears, Ragnar Sturlusson (Ian McShane), the cruel Mrs Coulter (Kidman typecast as an ice queen) and hordes of Tartar henchmen.
What’s missing is any sense of Lyra’s exhilarating but perplexing journey from childhood innocence to incipient adulthood. In the book, we see everything from Lyra’s point-of-view, sharing her sense of wonder, her doubts and fears, her love for her shape-shifting daemon Pantalaimon. But like the Northern Lights themselves, glimpsed only briefly as a projected image, all this is missing. As with the scary Mrs Coulter, the film should possess, 'a scent of grown-upness, something disturbing and enticing at the same time.'
Instead, it’s a synthetic, flavourless product that lacks the subversive tang of Pullman’s source novel.
Author: Nigel Floyd
Time Out London
User reviews of this film
-
- Robert said...
- Posted on Jan 01 2008 13:53 i took my 7 year old daughter to see this, i thought that it was ok for children to whatch, however the fight scene with the ice bears shocked her and the rest of the audience and i spent the rest of the movie calming her down (jaw dropping material!) poor ending,
- Report as inappropriate
-
- willy said...
- Posted on Jan 01 2008 13:12 i hate time outs stupid review. this film was ace.lyra is a right chav. lorik is a right legend and dat bird mrs coulter is my babe.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- mia said...
- Posted on Dec 30 2007 13:50 I was really looking forward to seeing this film - ive started reading the book but haven't got far yet and the adverts make it look really exiting... I was quite dissappointed with it really. I think the girl who played Lyra gave quite a wooden performance but most of the other casting was good. I think all the animals were well done, especially when Pan kept changing his form, but as a whole thing I didn't like it as much as the book. As with most books that are made into films, the books are usually a lot better.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Aaron said...
- Posted on Dec 30 2007 10:03 Girl TERRIBLE the adverts are so misleading. Strange ending a waste of money and the 'presumed sequel' will most likely kill people of boredom. Great book though
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Connie said...
- Posted on Dec 29 2007 22:18 Should i see it then???
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Mr C said...
- Posted on Dec 29 2007 19:58 If you've read the books then I wouldn't recommend going, if not I still wouldn't recommend going. overall not a bad film but not worth watching at the flicks. in my opinion wait for it on dvd.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- noel ware said...
- Posted on Dec 29 2007 15:08 not that good., out of 10 Iwould give it 3
- Report as inappropriate
-
- ChezzaQ said...
-
Posted on Dec 28 2007 21:28
I think that the description pretty much sums up this souless adaptation of the greatest fantasy novel's ever written. Although it may dazzle easily pleased audiences it is a complete demoralization of the everything that made the books so amazing. A few famous celebrities and a big fight scene at the end is all this film is worth. If you are looking for the a real hearty fantasy meal read the books. Trust me you will not be dissapointed!!!
*P.s What really nailed the coffin shut on this film was the short, rushed and totally bodged ending. What I am hoping for is that if they decide to adapt the next to books that they will learn from the many mistakes made in this one and give the films the life the books has. - Report as inappropriate
-
- Jay said...
- Posted on Dec 28 2007 18:16 Oh my god. All that money for that. Daniel Craig Brilliant, Nicole kidman not up to her usual standard but ok and the little girl who's name escapes me, should stick to the school plays for a while till she gets up to standards of the big screen. a bit harsh i know but true. Took my son to see it and even he was bored half way through. Oh and the toilets at the odeon in tamworth, still really bad.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Anna said...
- Posted on Dec 28 2007 14:39 A bit rushed, but I think they did very well, better than the Harry Potter movies. If the movie should contain everything the critics demand, it would take 8 hours or so...
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Red said...
-
Posted on Dec 28 2007 12:20
You either hate it or <3 it.
v.v >.< - Report as inappropriate
-
- Julii said...
-
Posted on Dec 27 2007 17:58
it's most certanly NOT a dull film!!! i think the 1s that say it's a boring film r dull themselves.
anyway, it's not the best film i've ever saw, but heading that way, + His Dark Materials is 1 of the best books i've ever read. - Report as inappropriate
-
- Staciie said...
- Posted on Dec 27 2007 17:17 what age is this for? (15) (18) ?
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Collin said...
- Posted on Dec 27 2007 13:08 I have read the books repeatedly and must say that all in all think the film is well done considering the amount of content to be put into three two and a half episodes. The casting was to my mind excellent. Lyra, Mrs Coulter, Asriel, Lee Scoresby were as I imagined them. I suggest that unless you have read the books hold on to the negative comments. Wait for the screams from the worlds churches when the full plot is revealed !!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- abbie said...
-
Posted on Dec 27 2007 10:48
this film is amazing i recomend every1 to see
it was so good i nearly started cryin
go and watch this film as soon as youve gt time - Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Chris Weitz
Cast: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Sam Elliott, John Hurt, Ben Walker, Jim Carter, Tom Courtenay, Christopher Lee, Kristin Scott Thomas, Edward de Souza, Derek Jacobi, Ian McShane, Freddie Highmore, Ian McKellen, Kathy Bates full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Fantasy
Duration: 114 mins
UK Release: Dec 5 2007
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now