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The Golden Compass
This film was a visual treat for the most part, but there were a few rough patches that didn't lend itself to good viewing. It had solid acting and they managed not to ruin the story too much, so it wasn't all that bad. It was more mindless fun then anything else.
For the life of me, I'll never know why the had the director they go direct the film, as he isn't a director who is going to be strong in the fantasy style. Chris Weitz is known for directing odd comedy films, most notably American Pie (1-3), and the fantasy film, or all that serious a film, isn't something that Weitz has delved into before. So having him tackle this project wasn't the best thing. It was done decently well, but it lacked the depth that the books have, and it had some poorly done extranious scenes that were a drag to watch.
It was a film that was done visually well. The few large scale shots were impressive, and the detail of the animals was done extremely well. The only animal (daemon) that was a little off in how it looked as the monkey of Coulter, but then again, the monkey is somewhat off already just because of its personality. But there were some extranious scenes that I felt were borrowed from a film like Marie Antoinette where there was a montage of imagery, but it really didn't progress the story at all. It is used to define the character a little bit, and to show the passing of time, but I feel like it is the easy way of doing it, and doesn't pack the punch which the director would hope that it would have.
I was quite impressed with the acting though. Dakota Blue Richards does a very impressive job in her role as Lyra. She is an entertaining character, and feels like she fits into the role nicely. Sam Elliot also does a good job in his role as Scoresby, and is quite entertaining in. The rest of this very strong cast do well in their roles, even though Daniel Craig's role is very limited and a lot of the other notable characters aren't a ton more expansive on the screen. I was disappointed that Freddie Highmore only does a voice in this film, as he is a very good young actor, and if given actual screen time would have done a very good job.
The contreversy surrounding this film seems to be to have been overblown. Yes, it does take a shot at the Roman Catholic Church in particular, but in the first book (and the first film) the anti-church/anti-religious vent isn't nearly as strong. And the first film even downplays it from the book. The one religious sounding line was a line about freewill that I really don't have an issue with. I think that the reaction against this film was off and completely blown out of proportion. Now for the second and third ones, if they occur, it could be valid, but that remains to be seen.
Overall this is an entertaining film that doesn't have as much substance as the books. It would have been nice to see the films in the hands (and pen) of a more compitent director (for the genre) and writer (Weitz did both). I do hope that they make a second and a third one, because, if nothing else they will still be entertaining.
Overall Grade: C+
Story: C
Acting: B
Audio/Visual: C+
This film was a visual treat for the most part, but there were a few rough patches that didn't lend itself to good viewing. It had solid acting and they managed not to ruin the story too much, so it wasn't all that bad. It was more mindless fun then anything else.
For the life of me, I'll never know why the had the director they go direct the film, as he isn't a director who is going to be strong in the fantasy style. Chris Weitz is known for directing odd comedy films, most notably American Pie (1-3), and the fantasy film, or all that serious a film, isn't something that Weitz has delved into before. So having him tackle this project wasn't the best thing. It was done decently well, but it lacked the depth that the books have, and it had some poorly done extranious scenes that were a drag to watch.
It was a film that was done visually well. The few large scale shots were impressive, and the detail of the animals was done extremely well. The only animal (daemon) that was a little off in how it looked as the monkey of Coulter, but then again, the monkey is somewhat off already just because of its personality. But there were some extranious scenes that I felt were borrowed from a film like Marie Antoinette where there was a montage of imagery, but it really didn't progress the story at all. It is used to define the character a little bit, and to show the passing of time, but I feel like it is the easy way of doing it, and doesn't pack the punch which the director would hope that it would have.
I was quite impressed with the acting though. Dakota Blue Richards does a very impressive job in her role as Lyra. She is an entertaining character, and feels like she fits into the role nicely. Sam Elliot also does a good job in his role as Scoresby, and is quite entertaining in. The rest of this very strong cast do well in their roles, even though Daniel Craig's role is very limited and a lot of the other notable characters aren't a ton more expansive on the screen. I was disappointed that Freddie Highmore only does a voice in this film, as he is a very good young actor, and if given actual screen time would have done a very good job.
The contreversy surrounding this film seems to be to have been overblown. Yes, it does take a shot at the Roman Catholic Church in particular, but in the first book (and the first film) the anti-church/anti-religious vent isn't nearly as strong. And the first film even downplays it from the book. The one religious sounding line was a line about freewill that I really don't have an issue with. I think that the reaction against this film was off and completely blown out of proportion. Now for the second and third ones, if they occur, it could be valid, but that remains to be seen.
Overall this is an entertaining film that doesn't have as much substance as the books. It would have been nice to see the films in the hands (and pen) of a more compitent director (for the genre) and writer (Weitz did both). I do hope that they make a second and a third one, because, if nothing else they will still be entertaining.
Overall Grade: C+
Story: C
Acting: B
Audio/Visual: C+