The Golden Compass
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Freddie Highmore (voice), Ian McKellen (voice), Eva Green, Sam Elliott, Christopher Lee, Kristin Scott Thomas (voice), Kathy Bates (voice),
Directed by: Chris Weitz
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Box Office: $
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In a world where people's souls walk next to them as animal spirits, a young girl (Dakota Blue Richards) gets caught up in a battle between a mysterious woman (Nicole Kidman) and her uncle (Daniel Craig), involving missing children and a mysterious substance known as dust.

Review:

Tim: This was a big-budget fantasy adventure film that hoped to capture the magic of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This absolutely does not happen. The book is probably quite good, but the movie just doesn't work. There are too many characters, and none get the screen time needed to fully establish them. As a result, unless you've read the book, it will be hard to follow. The film ends in a cliffhanger- which is another disappointment because the film's box office almost guarantees a sequel will not be made. So, we're left with an initial film that sets up... nothing.

Nicole Kidman really tries to establish herself as a chilling villain, but she never really comes across as believable. The performance is not bad by any means, but she always feels slightly out of place. Daniel Craig is decent, but he doesn't have nearly enough to do. The rest of the cast is decent, including Dakota Blue Richards, who didn't particularly impress me. The special effects are decent, but I felt like they were overrated. The movie won an Academy Award for special effects, instead of much more deserving films like Transformers.

I didn't hate this movie, but a film that attempts to be the next The Lord of the Rings needed to bring more to the table. The film's box office failure and a lack of greatness makes this movie a disappointment.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Stardust, Practical Magic