The Golden Compass

Synopsis: Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) is an orphan and the only living relative of Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) a kind of special agent of matters metaphysical. When she is chosen by the beautiful Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) to accompany her on a trip to the North she is given an "alethiometer" (which looks like a golden compass) with the understanding she must not let Mrs. Coulter know she possesses it.

"I liked the violence, I like the battle scene and the polar bear fight. The acting by Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman was bad. Eva Green was good. I can't remember the story." (Henry, aged 12)

This adaptation of Philip Pullman's children's novel, the first volume in the His Dark Material trilogy, is an annoyingly hum-drum affair driven more by a cohort of anonymous CGI animators and studio money-men than any tangible love of fantasy. Dutifully adhering to every tried and true trick and treat from the Harry Potter movies, writer/director Chris Weitz does not appear to have the slightest notion that an audience's desire for a good story needs to actually be engaged with. He instead whips us through a glib narrative arc of a questing young heroine battling dark forces to save the day (or the free world as she knows it or something or other) embellished with a grab-bag of two-dimensional characters ranging from "Gyptian" pirates to talking polar bears. Devoid of any dramatic texture, this glossy film simply rushes Belacqua from one life-threatening experience to another with nary a crinkle in her composure. The headlining Daniel Craig is a peripheral presence, as is his Bond compatriot, Eva Green, whilst Nicole Kidman makes for a serviceable ice queen although not as effective as was Tilda Swinton in a comparable performance in Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005).

In Weitz's hands (see below) one of the central ideas taken from the source material, that of invading dust comes across more as a house-keeping issue than a phenomenon of cosmic import whilst the daemons, the characters' souls embodied in animal form, have as much depth as rejects from a Disney animation. High on noise and violence and low on charm The Golden Compass is immediately forgettable fare made more annoying by the fact that its ending so unequivocally announces its next unasked-for and undeserved instalment. Being no Fellowship Of The Ring (2001), the first of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, one can only hope that a disappointing box-office will occasion its studio, New Line Cinema, to rethink the project before simply giving us (well, not me at least) more of the same.

FYI: In December 2004, Chris Weitz resigned from directing the film, claiming he was daunted by the technical challenges of the story. In August 2005 Anand Tucker, a director best-known for the 2005 Steve Martin comedy Shopgirl, was hired to replace Weitz Tucker felt that the film would have as its central theme "Lyra's search for self-discovery and for a family". In May 2006, however, he resigned, citing creative disagreements with New Line Cinema, and Weitz returned to direct. Tom Stoppard had been originally hired to write the screenplay although when Chris Weitz was hired to direct he rejected Stoppard's script, preferring to adapt Pullman's work himself.

 

 

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