The Golden Compass

By Tasha Robinson
Amid all the media foofaraw over whether Philip Pullman’s books promote child atheism, deicide or anti-Catholic sentiment, one thing rarely gets mentioned: “The Golden Compass,” the first book in Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy, barely cracks the lid on the series’ darker secrets. It’s pure introductory adventure, meant to immerse readers in Pullman’s richly complicated fantasy universe. He doesn’t start lowering the boom until the book’s final sequence, and since writer-director Chris Weitz excises that ending altogether in order to take his “Golden Compass” film adaptation out on a high note, “Compass” at least is fairly child-safe. It’s more a gateway drug than a wholesale plunge into dangerous theology.
The book’s tragic ending is far from the only thing Weitz cut.To get a densely episodic adventure down to two hours, he snipped out everything but the raw action, and the resultant breathless thrill ride zips between locales so rapidly that it’s hard to find mental footing. The opening sets the tone with a quick rundown of the film’s key fantasy components, particularly “Dust,” which links alternate universes, and “daemons,” intelligent animal spirits that serve as humans’ externalized souls. Children’s daemons are active, bouncy creatures that change shape easily and often, which gives “Compass” a dynamic, energetically chaotic look; wherever children gather, they’re surrounded by a whirring cloud of shape-changing, computergenerated beasties. But as children mature, their daemons take on fixed animal shapes that represent their personalities.
After that explanation, “The Golden Compass” tears into a CGI-heavy fantasy adventure that sends the protagonist, Lyra Belacqua (talented newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), on a Joseph Campbell-esque journey of heroic self-discovery. Four significant things happen in rapid order: She spies on a presentation about Dust that her uncle Asriel (a criminally underused Daniel Craig) gives to the local college. She loses her best friend Roger to kidnappers known as Gobblers. She acquires a magical symbol-reader, the titular “golden compass,” which can reveal unknown truths. And the intensely glamorous Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) brings Lyra into her household but quickly reveals that she’s more evil stepmother than fairy queen.
These events push Lyra into a series of cross-country escapades, leading toward the frozen north, where she befriends a gruff, noble polar bear voiced by Ian McKellen. Meanwhile, a set of mustache-twirling villains called the Magisterium is out to maintain moral control of her society “for its own good,” largely by performing hideous experiments on children.
The biggest problem with “The Golden Compass” is that it doesn’t stake out enough of a unique identity; its visuals, pacing, and tone all feel exactly like the fantasy segments of “Bridge To Terabithia,” which felt exactly like Walden Media’s 2005 adaptation “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which felt exactly like a child-friendly version of Peter Jackson’s “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy. If done right, the formula can be brisk and exciting, and while Weitz has no experience with epic fantasy — his last film was 2002’s cheery, lo-fi “About a Boy” — he handles the material well enough, keeping the action clear, crisp and immersive.
It also feels rushed, particularly in its first hour. The pace slows to a more comfortable drawl once Sam Elliott turns up as an air-cowboy balloon pilot; like Kidman and Craig, he’s more set dressing than significant character, but he’s still a terrific choice for the role. Like the painterly compositions of Lyra’s quaintly retro-tech world, the casting in “The Golden Compass” is picture-perfect.

***
Cast: Dakota Blue Richards; Nicole Kidman; Daniel
Craig; Sam Elliott; Ian McKellen
Running time: 1:53.
MPAA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of fantasy violence).

-Chicago Tribune