'The Golden Compass' - Film review

5 out of 10

As a fantasy adventure film this is mediocre. Just about everything is okay but not great. It's hard for me to judge how somebody who hasn't read the book would view this film but I suspect that it would seem rushed and confusing, with a rather abrupt and unexpected ending. This despite a slapped-on voice-over intro that explains loads of stuff the book kept mysterious...

As a fan of the book, I was surprised how such a complex novel had been edited and simplified. I know some of this is necessary for the screen, the book being so complex and detailed, but to end up with a film that's only 100 minutes shows that the studio were only thinking of bums on seats, not of making a film that the fans would appreciate. Even the Narnia films are over 2 hours, despite being based on much simpler, shorter sources.

I like Philip Pullman's work but I find it hard to believe that he sanctioned some of these changes. Removing the subtlety and mystery and even removing the ending (apparently they felt it would be better as an opening to movie 2) seem like the actions of people who don't understand or care about the book, rather than the author himself.

I think this film needed a stronger director, with a track record the studio could have faith in. Somebody with vision on a grand scale like Pullman's, not somebody who'd barely even used effects before. It's clear in the drab staging of the battles, the ham-fisted handling of big name actors, the mediocre performance of the lead, the barely-explained presence of the witches, that Chris Weitz simply can't handle it all. I don't think it was unfilmable, just unfilmable by this person.

As I said, if you don't care about this stuff then there's some fun to be had here. But I really think you should watch the Narnia films instead.