| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
|
| Story: |
B+ |
|
|
| Acting: |
A |
|
|
| Direction: |
B |
|
|
| Visuals: |
A+ |
|
|
Entertaining special effects laden fare
by RonaldB (movies profile)
Jun 14, 2008
158
of
201 people found this review helpful
Looking for a great special effects film that has an entertaining story thrown in? Want good actors? Want to think and not just have things thrown at you?
You could do worse than The Golden Compass which excels in each of those areas -- although at times, the film is definately skewed toward great special effects at the expense of actors.
The controversy has mostly been washed-away in this adaptation of Pullman's first part of His Dark Materials....those who saw the stage adaptation in London a few years ago need not worry about seeing ANY of the politics on stage here in this movie...
The special effects ARE whiz-bang, and the armored polar bears really DO take on a life of their own - be it scary at first, or companion a bit later. The snow effects look real, the battle scene stirring.
But the actors keep disappearing -- literally, for long stretches you watch CGI effects -- good ones at that -- but at the expense of actors.
The direction is not fluid. Some parts are beautifully done, others not so much. This leads to draggy sequences in a film that is really all about action. The film is dark, and at times scary - not for younger kids who will alternately be bored or have trouble following the (talky) action.
This is not a movie where you can check your brain at the door and just relax -- you must pay attention, listen to the words, and look for clues as the story progresses. If you leave to go to the bathroom or get popcorn, you will assuredly miss information that will be needed later in the film. STAY IN YOUR SEAT.
One final note -- to those famiilar with this material, the movie does NOT end at the end of Book One -- it covers about 80 percent of the book so that you can have an upbeat ending to the film. Those who have read the books know that The Golden Compass ends on a much much darker note -- that is missing in the movie. It will please audiences in general, but will sure to be disappointing to those who love the books and their mysterious flow and cliffhanging endings to Books I and II. |
My Public Profile 
