2008 Woodie Awards
The Golden Compass Review
Alex Quevedo
Issue date: 12/6/07Section: Torch Online Exclusives
3 out of 4 stars
While book adaptations aren't always the best type of movie, some have been able to garner financial and/or critical success. Harry Potter has clearly seen the most financial success while recent Oscar contender No Country for Old Men has received critical praise. "The Golden Compass," the first film based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Material trilogy, isn't getting the hype Harry Potter has received since day one, however. Aside from it being a lesser known series, it has been attacked by Christian fanatics trying to bring down the film for the books' dark, semi-Satanic undertones (the series is geared towards an older youth crowd, but also adults). But director Chris Weitz has managed to pull through the ramblings and create a darkly satisfying film.
We know dust as a collection of particles that accumulates on items left in place for too long, but in the world of "The Golden Compass," it means much more. There are multiple worlds revolving around in parallel universes and dust is what connects them. Through dust, one can find a way to access these other worlds, and that is exactly what Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) is trying to do.
But the story focuses on his niece, Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) and her adventures starting in Jordan College, Oxford. She spends her days parading around with her friends, but there is something different with these children, and even adults: animals follow them about. These animals are daemons, which are essentially an extension of themselves; a conscience, of sorts. While an adult's daemon remains as a single animal, a child's is ever changing until it chooses its final form. Lyra's has the name Pan but shifts between a ferret, bird, and cat. Strange things start to brew once she notices children go missing from the school and when she overhears talk of dust during her uncle's visit, she is immediately sought after by Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman), leader of the Magistrate. The Magistrate is a pseudo-super government that suppresses free thought amongst people. Lyra is given the Golden Compass by one of the school elders, which gives her the power to see the truth in anything. After a shocking realization about what Coulter is really trying to do, Lyra sets off on an adventure to stop the Magistrate and (by coincidence) save free thought.
While book adaptations aren't always the best type of movie, some have been able to garner financial and/or critical success. Harry Potter has clearly seen the most financial success while recent Oscar contender No Country for Old Men has received critical praise. "The Golden Compass," the first film based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Material trilogy, isn't getting the hype Harry Potter has received since day one, however. Aside from it being a lesser known series, it has been attacked by Christian fanatics trying to bring down the film for the books' dark, semi-Satanic undertones (the series is geared towards an older youth crowd, but also adults). But director Chris Weitz has managed to pull through the ramblings and create a darkly satisfying film.
We know dust as a collection of particles that accumulates on items left in place for too long, but in the world of "The Golden Compass," it means much more. There are multiple worlds revolving around in parallel universes and dust is what connects them. Through dust, one can find a way to access these other worlds, and that is exactly what Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) is trying to do.
But the story focuses on his niece, Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) and her adventures starting in Jordan College, Oxford. She spends her days parading around with her friends, but there is something different with these children, and even adults: animals follow them about. These animals are daemons, which are essentially an extension of themselves; a conscience, of sorts. While an adult's daemon remains as a single animal, a child's is ever changing until it chooses its final form. Lyra's has the name Pan but shifts between a ferret, bird, and cat. Strange things start to brew once she notices children go missing from the school and when she overhears talk of dust during her uncle's visit, she is immediately sought after by Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman), leader of the Magistrate. The Magistrate is a pseudo-super government that suppresses free thought amongst people. Lyra is given the Golden Compass by one of the school elders, which gives her the power to see the truth in anything. After a shocking realization about what Coulter is really trying to do, Lyra sets off on an adventure to stop the Magistrate and (by coincidence) save free thought.
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