• the217
• Movies + TV
• A flight of fancy for the family

Related Media

In this file photo provided by New Line Cinema, Dakota Blue Richards stars in New Line Cinema's release of Chris Weitz's "The Golden Compass." (New Line Cinema)

The Golden Compass
Rated PG-13
3 Stars Out of 4

Beginning with a seemingly harmless dare, and ending with childlike hope, The Golden Compass, is fundamentally about people rescuing one another. While lots of other things jump, flutter and stomp across the screen, this film keeps its focus on the innocent determination to help and protect a friend. Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) is the young girl who saves her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), from being poisoned in the first seven minutes of the film by the sinister Fra Pavel (Simon McBurney).

Lord Asriel is a scientist striving to discover the secrets of “Dust” ­­­— the mystical force that connects parallel universes. This knowledge makes him a danger to the authority of the Magisterium (the rulering class of the planet) who have always denied its existence. But before Lyra can help her uncle, she must first travel across the planet to help her best friend Roger (Ben Walker) escape his captors, the “Gobblers.”

Accompanying Lyra on her journey is her dæmon Pantalaimon (Voiced by Freddy Highmore), who is the physical embodiment of her soul, possessing the ability to change shapes depending on the situation. Lyra is whisked away by the ruthless Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) who teaches her that the Magisterium, “Tell people what to do in a kindly way.” After escaping Mrs. Coulter’s clutches, Lyra meets a wide assortment of friends, including a giant polar bear with body armor (Voiced by Sir Ian McKellen), a cowboy pilot named Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliot), a witch (Eva Green) and sea fairing warriors called Gyptians. All of these people come together to save the children being held captive by the repressive Magisterium.

The ideas behind the all-powerful Magisterium have garnered political attention due to some protests by Catholic groups, but the controversy seems unfounded since the Catholic Archdiocese has approved the film. Some viewers are worried about the anti-organized religion themes of Phillip Pullman’s book Northern Lights, which the film is based on, but there is a very slim case that can be made for this accusation in the film. For all intents and purposes, this movie draws more parallels between communist totalitarianism than Christian religions. The “Gobbler” soldiers resemble Cossack henchmen if anything.

Overall, The Golden Compass tries its best to match the epic scale of The Lord of the Rings, but it misses the mark. While a sweet, and well-intended movie, The Golden Compass suffers from having to rush through intricate plot elements. If the studio allowed the movie to run at least twenty minutes longer, it possibly could have been a very good movie. As it stands, The Golden Compass is a family film that may be too dark for smaller children, but for anyone over the age of eight it should be good fun.