The Golden Compass: Review
Posted 13th December 2007 at 11:58pm by M1ke, tagged as Film | Commenting Closed
Otherwise known as Northern Lights, but renamed because Americans aren't sure where North is
Films of great books are always scary when they loom upon the cinematic radar, as whilst every great book can be envisioned as a film most transitions from print to screen go horribly wrong. There are exceptions of course, and whilst something is always lost in the translation such films as the more recent of the Harry Potter offerings, the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the phenomenal Lord of the Rings trilogy have bent and broken these barriers. The Golden Compass is a New Line Cinema film, the same as LotR, so you would have thought they could learn a few valuable lessons and they have. Sadly they also missed some points which will incite occasional to frequent winces from fans of the book.
The film starts a little poorly, with the principles of Dust, the parallel worlds and daemons explained in a voice over. Whilst I understand this may have left some less clever members of the audience in mild confusion I do think it should have been put across in opening scenes rather than wimping out by just telling the viewers. However from this point the film continues on well, with good coverage of the main plot points and the subtle differences in this parallel world put across well. The main characters are all well portrayed and whilst some scenes feel rushed it is a testament to the writers trying to fit everything in that they are included. There are a number of well known faces in the cast (Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig) although Christopher Lee, a name doubtless printed on the teaser posters, appears very briefly and no one is quite sure who he is meant to be playing. No characters stuck out as being played badly, and Ian McKellen does a traditional sterling job playing Iorek Byrnison.
As with any big budget release these days the special effects are done excellently, though some of the technology shown seemed a bit too sci-fi, rather than the slightly odd renditions of our technology that Pullman describes in the books. A certain fight involving bears is done especially well and the ending actually managed to shock a large number of the audience. Some other moments in the film also have a bit of jump potential, which keeps attention during the slightly slower early stages. Sadly despite the excellent renditions of the large dominating church buildings in both London and Oxford, the Church is only ever referred to as the Magesterum - whilst it takes this name in the book occasionally the word Church is mentioned far more. I can guess reasons for this change but it is surely a poor state of affairs when a clearly fictional film must censor itself in such a way, undermining a lot of Pullman's original points.
The main problems as far as following the book come in the second half, with some vital portions of the adventure put in a distinct wrong order. Whilst the film again manages to hit all the points it means that the start and end of each of these sections has to deviate wildly - and considering that both sections are present I can't understand why they were placed in that particular order. Similar in the pointless changes department is renaming king of the bears Ioufur Raknison to Ragnar Sturlusson.
The final criminal is the ending. Whilst I don't want to spoil it the ending does away with what would traditionally be a brilliant Hollywood cliffhanger and a huge signpost to the next film and ends in a weak "sailing into the sunset" point that can only leave the next film floundering. It is unfortunately likely that this was done because of fears of a poor critical or financial reception that would make a second film unlikely anyway. Still it is a shame because it turned what had been an enjoyable film into a real point of annoyance right at the last moment.
I wouldn't urge people to go and see The Golden Compass if they are big fans of the books and despite the obvious effort that went into a lot of it certain writing decisions have marred what it could have been. If a second film is made it would be better off to try and stick to the form of the books, as well as maybe overcoming some fears about naming when regarding the Church.
IMDB: The Golden Compass