This year has been really, really bad on movies that cost over 200 million. Or maybe that mammoth of a budget overwhelms the filmmakers. That's certainly what happened here, the film is hopelessly bogged down by the endless special effects. As a result, scene transitions are incredibly choppy, the action scenes are dull and lifeless, and the only noteworthy performances are by the voice actors. Scene after scene is people surrounded by pretty digital backgrounds lifelessly spouting off exposition, as the film seems incapable of letting the story unfold without someone spelling it out. And when situations are solved, it's always by the supporting heroes popping up at the last second. This is a dull, toothless mess that may very well destroy a film studio.

After the latest trailer, it doesn't surprise me at all that TGC would turn out shite. I was shocked when people were enthusiastic over it, the movie looks like a gigantic mess, and I guess... it is. : )

As far as CGI creature vs. CGI creature goes, it didn't have shit on King Kong or Transformers, but was a step up from Van Helsing and D-War. The circular arena made it reallly look to me like two people fighting each other in a videogame five years in the future thanks to the boring camerawork. I will give it props for the finishing move, that was much like the book and had a lot of the audience going .

I wouldn't be surprised if someone had pulled the same shit on Kuma in Tekken before.

What a great movie!

But not really a children's film at all - - very dark - - I should think it would appeal to the same audiences who enjoyed Narnia (except for the hard core Christians who will, of course, be proclaiming their allegiance to the Magisterium) or LOTR.

It's like Harry Potter, but written for intelligent people.

This was a thriller from beginning to end - - a thriller in which I truly cared about the characters I had only just met. The technology and cities are luscious steampunk dreams, and the acting is top notch throughout. I also enjoyed the cgi daemons and bears and their voice actors. From the hints I have gathered as I yell at friends to stop telling me, the story heads off in a fantastically sci-fi angle in the sequels, and I for one can't wait.

GREAT.

:squirt:

I can certainly envision the challenge that this film is going to pose to 2007 audiences - - it's all set-up - - there's no there, there...

However, even though the first run BO is going to be disappointing to some, it's re-issue BO receipts over the coming decades will more than make up for any tears spilt this December...

I predict the trilogy will be an epic for the ages on the order of Gone With The Wind and Ben Hur - - behold the birth of His Dark Materials...

Some of my floormates just saw the sneak preview yesterday and really didn't like it. And they're big fantasy fanboys/girls.

I don't think people who have read the book are going to like it. At all. Other than the gorgeous visuals it has none of the magic or spirit of Pullman's works.

While bradley and I vastly differ, I will say that I do agree the film is very much setup. However, it loses major points for ending on such a false note and not having the cajones to give us the real set up. If you're going to spend the whole movie telling us about magical people and places, at least play your full hand. Shoving all this information down the audience's throats only to deny them some of the most crucial information isn't just cowardly, it's just plain wrong. And I think that anyone who has read the book will agree.

Hang on, what's so special about how this polar bear fight ends? What happens?

Come on, this is the spoiler section isn't it? Spoil me!

another disappointing animal on animal battle.

Leaving out the ending is intentional, for pacing purposes. Same reason TTT's first chapter got moved to FotR. No cajones involved.

I've heard that the ending tested poorly with audiences who didn't like the cliffhanger aspect, and since the second and third will depend on this film doing much, much better than people are beginning to realize it will, they didn't want to end it on that sort of note. Hopefully we can see it on the DVD though - I was looking forward to seeing those effects and surprises onscreen.

Either way, the ending that the film did choose is nowhere near FOTR's. It's more on par with Eragon's.

So spoilers, duh.

Bears roar. Charge like we've seen in all the commercials, than keep going for about fifteen seconds. Both helmets get knocked off, the camera barely moves as if it's a videogame, and then Iorek's front paw gets scratched. He reels back holding it, where Ian McShane starts roaring "Is that all?" multiple times. On the second roar we see McKellan ball up hurt first, than the next time he swings and knocks off McShane's lower jaw. The camera pulls back, audience members go "Whaaaaaaat?", and he falls down dead.

Well ... that was disappointing.

*sigh*

Saw it yesterday, comparable to the first Potter flick in how they butchered the source material.

The ending...oh God.

Sorceror's Stone was a much better film. I really think that not reading the book is nessecary to being satisfied by this movie.

How did Sorcerer's Stone butcher the book?

I'm assuming Lecter is referring not to missing plot points as much as the way the films lumber forward with sloppy exposition, constantly explaining what each magical thing is rather than showing us. Or if that's more The Golden Compass, at least they both feature excessive use of special effects to make up for a lack of storytelling prowess.

C+ Too much exposition in the dialogue. When you ahve to explain every detail of the story to the audience you did something wrong.

http://www.worldofkj.com/articleIndex.php?tid=31149

D

BJs Grade:

A-

You're all insane the movie rocks.

I wanted to walk out after about half an hour, when Lyra or whatever fled Nicole Kidman's house. Wish I had, because it never really got any better. Awfully boring, without an ounce of fun to it. At least Narnia, another recent bad fantasy film, was an enjoyable pass of two hours, this was just like torture. But at least is was pretty to look at.


out of

Okay...here it goes. As you probably know this was my most anticipated movie of all time. I'm a HUGE fan of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, and Northern Lights is my favourite book ever, so I was really anticipating this.

I liked it. It was pretty fun and visually spectacular. In order to end this review on a positive note, I'll start out with the negative things. First, the changes made to the book. Removing the last 3 chapters, making the events of the Bears before Bolvangar and removing and changing around characters was really really bad. The film would've been so much better if things had been like they were in the book. Also the pacing. It was WAY too fast. The story seemed very rushed and there was no breathing time. There were hardly any calm scenes, which I felt the film really needed. Characters jumped to conclusions way too fast and everything was too fast. The film was also confusing for non-readers, I went to see it with 2 friends, one of whom had read the book, the other hadn't, and the non-reader friend kept asking me questions about it the ENTIRE film (although he did like it in the end).

Now the good stuff. The visual style is absolutely gorgeous. The art direction is amazing, the effects are wonderful (third best of the year behind AWE and Trasnsformers) and the score is beautiful as well. This film is a feast for the eyes. I also loved how it didn't try to imitate the LOTR, HP or Narnia style, but crafted it's own, so it's in no way a spin-off of any film (this also goes for the general feel of the movie and the film in general, it's different and unique). The action sequences are very fun and well made, the polar bear battle was really good and the battle at the end was much better than I had expected.

The anti religious stuff is honestly bs. It's there, but added very subtly. You'll only find it if you're looking for it.

Another great thing about the film was the acting. Dakota Blue Richards is PERFECT. She is a great find really. She completely emobies Lyra from the book and is a great actress, much better than the Narnia kids. She makes you root and care for her character. Elliot, Green and Craig were also very good. But Nicole Kidman is just...spectacular as Mrs. Coutler. She is 2007's most memorable villain, elegant, classy, evil extremely easy to hate. She is just amazing.

The first third of the movie was the best. Up to the scene where Lyra runs away, the film is LOTR quality. Then it goes downhill a bit with too fast pacing and one event after the other without any breathing time. The ending was also a major let down since including the last 3 chapters of the book would've elevated the film from simply good to great. And what aggravates me more is that they actually shot and finished that ending! I can't wait for the Director's Cut.

All in all, despite straying from the books at some points, a far too fast pace and a dissapointing ending, The Golden Compass is a solid start for what (hopefully) will be a new franchise. The visuals are spectacular, the acting is great, and the film is very enjoyable.

B+