Calaidescope World

'The Golden Compass' is No 'Lord of the Rings'...or 'Da Vinci Code'

I missed the first 15 or 20 minutes of The Golden Compass. Me? Late for a movie? And not just me. Bianca?! Late? She's almost never late for anything, especially movies. Yes, what is the world coming to. In any case, I think Chris Weis' version of The Golden Compass, which we saw last Saturday, deserved 3 and a half stars if only for being such a fantastic production and having a near perfect cast (I still think Jason Isaacs should have played Lord Asriel). Again, it's a book I've read and a series that I love, which means there were endless comparisons to the original text. I wasn't sorely disappointed (I liked it), but I was actually worried about members of the audience who had not read the book, and took a while to understand what all those animals were doing onscreen and why Lyra's kept changing (how do you explain what a demon is without ruining the whole movie experience, right?).


I was surprised by how true the set (just the set) was to the book. It was much better than I imagined! And some (only some) of the changes from the book were handled quite well. But that "What man on this ship was once my lover?" crap...what the hell was that? That entire scene could have been handled so much better. Serafina Pekkala is such a great character, but the film kind of kept her in the background. I hope they do more with her in the second and third parts of the series.


And all the hullaballoo about this movie being anti-Christian? Please! As Bianca said, everybody saw The Da Vinci Code anyway and it was crap. Absolute rubbish Such a horrible film translation of an exciting book. There was nothing anti-Christian about the film version of The Golden Compass. In fact, a lot of the "free-thinking" and anti-establishment sentiments of the book were watered down. I can't remember who said it, but perhaps parents who decide to take their kids to see The Golden Compass should spend some time to discuss the movie with their children and use that as a springboard for exploring and strengthening their Faith, etc., etc. Seeing the film or reading the book will not destroy a weak person's Faith. If anything, such a person may need guidance, but that's it. It's nowhere as direct an attack on the Church as The Da Vinci Code and is a far superior film.

So because I missed the beginning and want to enjoy a worry-free movie experience, I want to see it again. I so want to like this movie the way I care about 300, Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings, but I can't. My cousins hated it. I thought a lot could have been done better. Well, it's better than The Chronicles of Narnia and Stardust, that much I can say. I didn't have to suffer through two hours of Claire Danes.

Over at Ain't It Cool News, someone commented that Peter Jackson would have done a phenomenal job with The Golden Compass. I think Peter Jackson would have done an outstanding job with Stardust, too (as Jay I. pointed out, I'm sure he would have been smart enough to consult Charles Vess). Alas, there can only be one The Lord of the Rings and it's still the ultimate fantasy book-to-film translation to beat.

posted by Calai @ 12:33 PM