Golden Compass

Pros: nice visual effects, polar bear fight, good acting by Dakota Blue-Richards
Cons: poor script, lack of controversy, shallow characters, too fast-paced

If Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass had even been kept partly controversial for the movie release, it might have fared better. Instead, the movie has gotten an abysmal 41% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and a meager $58 million box ...

Pros: Nice effects and costumes
Cons: Total mess of a movie

I see now why The Golden Compass was such a big bomb at the box office. It was a total mess of a movie, from the guy who directed About a Boy. This was supposed to be the first movie in a trilogy based on Phillip Pullman’s His Dark ...

Pros: An amazing story, amazingly told.
Cons: Why didn't I see this at the movies?

First, I should tell you, I've been a sci fi / fantasy geek since I could read. I've read everything by Asmimov, Bradbury, Piers Anthony and Arthur C. Clarke. I've read the epic fantasy tales of J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkein (and seen the movies). I ...

Pros: Special effects, especially with regards to the daemons.
Cons: Inconsistent acting, horrible pacing, and very bad music

The Golden Compass is a difficult movie for people who are familiar with the novel; given this, I can’t imagine that a casual viewer would be able to remember how all of the subtleties of this extra-universal London/earth work. Before I go into ...

Pros:

Iorek Byrnison, The Aeronaut, Lyra, a strong female fantasy lead

Cons: Does not stay true to the book in many ways

There are many universes and many earths running parallel to each other and in Lyra Belacqua's world only a few knew that "dust" connected them. As young children are disappearing, and the gobblers are suspected, young Lyra finds herself on a dangerous ...

Pros: A thrilling adventure in a world of magic.
Cons: I can't wait for the next two!

The Golden Compass (2007) Directed by Chris Weitz from the Novel by Phillip Pullman. The Golden Compass is the first in Phillip Pullman’s Dark Materials Trilogy. Therefore, this movie is the first part of a trilogy, and must be viewed as such. ...

Pros: CGI effects (esp. daemons and bears); casting; not overly long
Cons: failure to engage; lack of character development; disappointingly unsubversive

THE STORY Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) is a 12-year-old girl who lives in a parallel universe uncannily like our own, except everyone is accompanied by a 'daemon'--their soul in animal form. Lyra is a ward of Jordan College, ...

Pros: Kidman, Richards, Elliott, Polar Bears, themes
Cons: Rushed, choppy, uneven FX, Craig

In an alternate version/dimension of our world, in which every human is paired with a living embodiment of their soul (called a daemon/demon) and daily life is controlled by a pseudo-religious authoritarian group known as The Magisterium (headed by the ...

Pros: Gorgeous visuals, all-star cast
Cons: Underpowered, rushed, at times disjointed

I haven't read any of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Triology (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass), so I'm judging The Golden Compass on its own merits. In the tradition of Tolkien or Rowling, Pullman has created an ...

Pros: All the design aspects are stunning; pretty faithful to book; strong cast; exciting
Cons: Too concentrated on VFX; lacks book's slow, subtle tone; choppy, frantic editing; convoluted; too short

His Dark Materials: Northern Lights, the original name for the book, in the UK. What a poignant, mysterious title for a book. The Golden Compass? Well, it doesn't quite have the same impact, does it? The use of the American name of the book for the film ...

Pros: Gorgeous CGI (Oscar winning, in fact)
Cons: Dull story.

have never read any of the books, so I entered the film with very little in the way of an expectation of what the plot would be. Obviously I had seen the movie trailers, so I knew this was probably something in the NARNIA, ERAGON, perhaps even LORD OF ...

Pros: Great cast, could be the start of an interesting franchise...POLAR BEAR FIGHT!!
Cons: Underdeveloped characters, some poor cgi, inconsistent pacing and plotting.

Chris Weitz's adaptation of Phillip Pullman's the Golden Compass is the first film in what will likely be a box office smash of a saga along the lines of the Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter films. The first films tells the story of Lyra Belaqua ...

Pros: Great Story, Beautiful Visuals, Excellent Acting, Interesting Concepts
Cons: Rushed Pace. Some details and characters skipped or skimped. No resolution on the ending.

After being excited by the interesting trailers for The Golden Compass , I was rather surprised by the calls for a boycott. After doing some basic research, I decided to both read the book and see the movie for myself. I'm glad I did. I ...

Pros: great visual effects
Cons: a little to long

I at first was a little leery on watching this film. Mostly due to all the ratings this movie was getting. Yet again another movie attack from the Christian population on all public message boards had me to wonder is this movie that bad? This movie ...

Pros: Good story line. Enjoyed the acting.
Cons: not the best special effects . . . could have been better

This movie caused me to want to read the books, so it AT LEAST has that value. I was nervous about seeing the movie, as I am a Christian, and with all the controversy, I was not sure what to expect. I asked a friend about the books, and she said she ...