The Golden Compass Review

by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)
December 9th, 2007
¡°The Golden Compass¡± ¨C More Direction Needed
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007

When you break down the individual ingredients
that are in this film, there¡¯s an epic story
somewhere here in the making. There¡¯s a
mythical golden item that the forces of evil want
to possess. There¡¯s a chosen one who may rise
to power once this character fully understands
her potential. There¡¯s a stalwart fighter who
bravely wades into battle. There¡¯s a graceful
archer. And a fellowship evolves to help protect
the chosen one and to defeat the evil forces.

Sound familiar? Regardless, there are some good
things and ideas at work here, although the first
installment of this epic tale starts off kind of
weakly. Based on the award-winning trilogy
fantasy, ¡°His Dark Materials,¡± by Phillip
Pullman, ¡°The Golden Compass¡± tells of how
there are parallel universes that are all strung
together by some kind of cosmic dust. In one
particular world, where this film takes place,
the truth of this dust and the possible existence
of outside worlds are being suppressed by the
Magesterium, an organization that closely
resembles the church.

One of the unique aspects of this world is that
people have souls, but are called daemons and are
represented as animals that walk alongside their
humans. In a nefarious plot, there is a movement
to separate humans from their daemons. It¡¯s all
part of a larger conspiracy to hide the truth.
But there is one girl named Lyra (Dakota Blue
Richards) who may be able to thwart them. She
possesses a magical instrument that allows a
gifted person to see the truth that others are
trying to hide.

There has been a lot of pre-hype and controversy
that has preceded the release of this film. And,
I have 3 quick thoughts:

Firstly, it is a somewhat exciting movie that
isn¡¯t nearly as lush as ¡°The Lord of the
Rings¡± but has a darker and more sinister
feeling than ¡°The Chronicles of Narnia: The
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe¡±. This first
installment takes us up to the point where the
different forces of good begin to assemble.
Along the way, there is a rescue mission to an
arctic prison where missing children are being
held and experimented upon. And, there is a nice
subplot that allows a great Northern Bear named
Iorek (voiced by Ian McKellen) to regain his
honor with his people. The film, however,
suffers from having too many characters and not
enough development. There are scholars and
gypsies and family members and witches and even
the welcome presence of Sam Elliot that all enter
the fray.

Secondly, as far as the anti-church controversy,
I say bah! Sure, the baddies look like
well-dressed monks masking as Big Brother
soldiers, but the film¡¯s message is about a
battle for free will. It could¡¯ve just have
easily been about the corporate environment
wanting to turn its employee base into 9-to-5
drones. For such an exquisite looking film, I
think that the church frocks go much better with
the cinematography than a gray 3-piece suit with
a white shirt and a dark blue tie.

Thirdly, controversy is a marketing tool to build
revenue. Pullman¡¯s three novels (Northern
Lights [retitled The Golden Compass for
moviegoing audiences], The Subtle Knife, and The
Amber Spyglass) have earned many literary awards.
If the Chronicles of Narnia is a religious
retelling, then ¡°The Golden Compass¡± is merely
a second opinion. But both books feature
children facing difficult choices, animals that
talk, religious references, strange new worlds,
and an impending penultimate battle between two
opposing forces.

I was impressed with some parts. But, I wished
other parts were explained or developed more
fully (e.g. the subplot with the valiant bear
seemed rushed, the secret behind reading the
compass, why the witches are involved, etc¡).
Yet, if there was any true controversy, my
concern would be that young Lyra, as resourceful
and brave as she is, needs to resort to lying and
bluffing as opposed to honor and diplomacy.
Well, I suppose the truth is that people lie.
The kind of compass that people need is a moral
one.

Grade: B-

S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3

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