The Golden Compass

Directed by: Chris Weitz
Starring: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Freddie Highmore, Ian McKellen, Eva Green, Sam Elliott, Christopher Lee, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kathy Bates
Running Time: 1h 53min

Fantasy films (and novels) promise so much, but unless you can get deep within them, they can give you so little. The genre's trappings and formulaic unfolding require that there be something emotionally or philosophically different to set it above other examples of the genre. Philup Pullman's trilogy certainly has these in spades. Unfortunately, the novel's driving forces are lost in this adaptation.

Strangely, however, The Golden Compass' casting and production/design is spot on when it comes to the book's vision. The sets conjure up the same surroundings, and the all-star cast hits the right notes when it comes to the tone of each character. In fact, the casting couldn't be better, as each actor, on screen or just as a voice, nail the characters' demeanor and presence from the novel. Dakota Blue Richards is particularly good, embodying the lead character Lyra's sense of mischief, charm, and cunning wit. Adult leads Kidman and Craig do just as well, fully fleshing out their supporting roles, doing plenty of subterfuge with merely a glance, an eyebrow, or a whisper. They place their characters exactly where they need to be in order to keep the audience guessing.

Despite all that the film adaptation gets right, there's too much left out and done wrong. First off, the restructuring of the novel to make for a more fluid film, with key spectacles more perfectly placed, actually results in a film that struggles with pace. Unlike the novel, which builds suspense, intrigue, and emotional weight by the way it slowly builds, this restructuring never allows the film to build any momentum, all the while stripping the high octane action scenes of any emotional intensity or grand scope. Even something as simple as the majestic power of the Aurora Borealis, and all that can possibly exist within it's awesome beauty, is barely glimpsed in the film.

It seems as though the studio was so desperate for the next fantasy franchise, that they forgot what made the books special in the first place. By focusing on the elements of what makes a fantasy fit the genre, they forgot to include everything that makes "His Dark Materials" stand out; a fantasy that offers the best of children's literature, while pondering the essence of us all, and the question of free will. It's a shame the studio aimed so low.

Grade: B-